
Class, 
Book 






Copyright ]^°_ 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



The Gibbons's Elm, Winthrop 




{For description see page jjy) 



LANDMARKS 



"IN THE OLD BAY STATF/' 



BY 
WILLIAM R. COMER 



PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR 
191 1 



■ C 7-3 



Copyright, 191 i 
By William R. Comer 



Norivood Press 

J. S. Gushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norivood, Mass., U.S.A. 



©CIASOIJOGS g 



TO MY FATHER-IN-LAW 

HENRY SEWALL ADAMS 

WHO FOR MORE THAN SIXTY YEARS HAS BEEN 

CONNECTED WITH THE BOSTON POST-OFFICE 

THIS BOOK 

IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED 



PREFACE 

The author has been, for a long term of years, with 
the Youth's Companion as their travelling representative, 
and has had exceptional opportunity for obtaining pictures 
of old buildings, tablets, trees, etc. ; also, of hearing the 
old tales and stories connected with homes that have 
been occupied by members of the same families for 
several generations. 

In compiling this book, the author is largely indebted 
to facts gained from old manuscripts and other sources. 

Trusting that it may be interesting as well as instruc- 
tive. 

WILLIAM R. COMER. 

Elm Knoll, Wellesley, Mass., 
September, 191 1. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Amesbury 

Boston 

Byfield 

Cambridge 

Chelsea 

Danvers 

Dorchester 

Jamaica Plain 

Lexington 

Malden 

Marblehead 

Meuford 

Melrose 

Milton 

Newbury 

OuiNCY 

Revere 
Roxbury 
Somerville 
Winthrop 



2 

• 5-43 
47-48 
54-62 
63-72 

76-113 

'15-133 

136-143 
146-1 70 
172-178 
181-224 
226-237 

242 
245-250 
25 1-280 
284—294 

296 
303-313 
320-331 
336-349 



** An old house is like an old violin : 

The music of the past is wrought into it." 



LANDMARKS 
"IN THE OLD BAY STATE" 

"A CENTURY OLD" 

"On a sloping lawn that meets the tide, 
A giant elm stands spreading wide; 
Through summer's heat and winter's cold 
It proudly stands, a century old. 

" Some who in youth beneath it played 
Are now within the churchyard laid ; 
As springtime comes, its leaves unfold. 
And still it lives, a century old. 

" Its pendent boughs the sea-winds swing. 
The song-birds in its branches sing; 
Its graceful form we still behold. 
This noble tree, a century old. 

"At Thornton's portal may you stand 
Untouched by ruthless vandal hand; 
And children yet to come be told 
Your age, O elm, a century old." 

H. S. A. 



Old Macy House, Amesbury 




Main Street 



OLD MACY HOUSE 

On the map made in 1639, Thomas Macy has 
his name on the lot on what is now Main Street, 
the nearest one to Newburyport. He stood 
eleventh in the distribution of the lots at that time. 
He was the first town clerk. 

In 1640 he was appointed town surveyor, to 
run the line between Hampton and Amesbury. 

In 1652 he built the first sawmill, on the Powow 
River. 

In 1654 he built this old house, which still stands 
as a monument to his careful workmanship and his 
skill in selecting the lumber to build it with. 

In 1664 he drew lot seventeen, in the great 
swamp, which it was planned to improve and 
drain by its owners, a scheme which was never 
carried out to benefit any one. 

We find in 1670, when the town was reincorpo- 
rated, that Mr. Macy stood fifth on the " list of 
desirable citizens." 

No mention is made in the town records of where 
Thomas Macy was born, but he was banished from 
the town in 1659 for harboring a proscribed Quaker. 

The house, as built, was a large plain structure. 
It was no small job to build so large a house in those 
days, as every nail, bolt, and hinge had to be 
forged by hand, and the best workmen at the forge 

3 



could not make four hundred of the small nails used 
to fasten the shingles to the roof in a working day. 
It was very heavily timbered, even for those days, 
and was built not for show, but to stand. 

At one time Mr. Macy announced in town 
meeting that the width of all sleds to be used on 
the highway should be of uniform width, four feet 
and two inches, and that a fine of five shillings be 
imposed on each person driving a sled of a different 
width. 

All through the town records pertaining to the 
Revolution, at the end of the meeting it says: "And 
all the freemen adjourned to the Widow Estha 
Colby's Ordinary," where it is supposed they en- 
joyed themselves by drinking something besides 
"cold tea." 

At one time, when the church had lately been 
remodelled, seven spinsters petitioned the town 
that they might have a pew allotted to them for 
their own use. This was granted, and so well did 
they behave, and so circumspect were they in 
their actions, that before the end of a year all 
seven had become brides. 

Edward M. Stanton, President Lincoln's great 
War Secretary, was a direct descendant of Mr. 
Macy. 



The Old Boston Stone, Boston 




Marshall Street, near Hanover 



THE OLD BOSTON STONE 

This stone, which Is said to be a relic of the paint 
mill which was brought out from England hy a 
painter named Tom Chllds, marks the spot of the 
home of Thomas Marshall, who came from Eng- 
land in 1635. 

He was the first shoemaker In the "Bay State 
Colony." In addition to his working on the bench 
with his own hands, he employed others to assist 
him. 

He was a selectman of Boston for many years. 
He also was a city representative to the Gen- 
eral Court, and deacon of the first church, 
and was the keeper of the first ferry between 
Boston and Charlestown, which he established 
In 1652. 

He also established the ferry between Boston 
and Winnlsimmet, now known as Chelsea. 

Shortly after he gave the land to the town of 
Boston, now known as Marshall Street, and 
largely used as a short cut from Union to Hanover 
Street. 

The house, now surrounded by other buildings, 
in 1727 stood alone on the bank of the then so- 
called "Mill Pond," and wherries carried passen- 
gers from his front doorstep to Chelsea and Charles- 
town. 

6 



The Massachusetts Spy, a daily paper, was 

published here from 1771 to 1775, when it was 

moved to Worcester, Mass., and renamed the 
Worcester Spy. 



Old South Church, Boston 




Washington and Milk 



OLD SOUTH CHURCH 

The affectionate regard in which this venerable 
meeting-house is held extends much beyond the 
Hmits of Boston. 

In 1669 the Old South Society was organized, 
and in 1670 a wooden edifice was erected on land 
given by the widow of the Rev. John Norton. 
Thomas Thacher was settled as its minister. 

In 1729 the present building was built. It was 
for many years a rallying-point for all patriots in 
times of political excitement and for the discus- 
sion of anything bearing on the curtailment of the 
rights of the inhabitants of the "Bay State Col- 
ony." What was said and done within its walls 
has been inseparably knit in the history of the 
United States. 

Familiar to all are the famous meetings, reso- 
lutions, and patriotic orations, which, echoing 
from the walls, roused the whole country and shook 
the British throne. Here the Indians donned their 
fantastic suits and marched down to Griffin's 
Wharf to give the port of Boston Harbor a tea 
party. 

Used as a riding-school by the British while 
they occupied Boston, and also for cavalry drills 
and exercises, caused Washington to remark that 
he could not understand the reverence the British 

9 



had for their own churches, when they so dese- 
crated ours. 

The old sounding-board is still in its old place, 
but the old pulpit Is gone. 

In 1783, after repairs had been completed, the 
Society met for the first time since the destruction 
of all the inside finish by the British, in 1775. 

The pulpit of Sewall and Paine, and one in which 
Benjamin Wadsworth, Benjamin Colman, Samuel 
Phipps, Nathaniel Appleton, and Samuel Hopkins 
had stood, and from which Whitefield had preached 
so often on his many visits to Boston, had been 
destroyed. 

Benjamin Franklin was baptized here, and here 
he worshipped. 

March 13, 1808, the standing committee voted 
to have built a new pulpit, and Deacon Phillips 
offered four hundred pounds towards defraying 
expenses. It was completed and used in August 
of the same year, and a vote of thanks given the 
donor. 

In i860 this pulpit was removed, but an effort 
is now being made to have it restored. 

The church was bought from its owners by the 
Old South Preservation Society for ^430,000, and 
Is now used as a Revolutionary museum. 



10 



Tablet, Hancock House, Boston 




Beacon Street, near Joy 



TI 



HANCOCK HOUSE 

This house was demolished in 1863, much to the 
regret of all the liberty-loving people of Boston. 

Thomas Hancock, the builder of this house, in 
1737, commenced life as an apprentice to a sta- 
tioner on King Street, now State Street; and at 
the end of his life he was said to be the richest 
man in Boston. 

When the house was built, there was no other 
house near by; all was pasture field covered with 
bushes. Its great breadth, fifty-six feet, made it 
an imposing as well as a beautiful building. The 
grounds, after the house was finished and occupied, 
extended from Mt. Vernon Street to Joy Street. 

Everything Mr. Hancock took hold of seemed to 
prosper, and to crown all, he married his master's 
daughter, the beautiful Lydia Henchman. 

One of the greatest of the many great men that 
the Revolution produced, John Hancock, was born 
here the year the house was finished. When old 
enough, he was taken into the business office 
of his uncle Thomas Hancock, and at his death 
fell heir to nearly all his great wealth. 

One bequest of Thomas Hancock is of interest 
to all "Harvard men," as his one thousand pounds 
was the first of many bequests to Harvard College. 

12 



John Hancock was but twenty-seven years of 
age when he became the exclusive possessor of 
seventy-five thousand pounds, a greater sum in 
those days than five miUion dollars would be 
to-day. 

Before his uncle died, the mansion was noted for 
its lavish hospitality, but after John became the 
head of the house, he was noted as the most popu- 
lar and hospitable man in the Provinces. 

In 1775 he married Dorothy Quincy, while his 
life had been proscribed by the British Govern- 
ment. He lived some twenty years after his mar- 
riage, and died of gout when but fifty-six years old. 

He held many high positions under the new 
United States Government, and no doubt his large 
wealth, which he freely spent in aid of liberty, 
was of great use to the Provincials during the war. 



13 



King's Chapel, Boston 




Corner Tremont and School Streets 



14 



KING'S CHAPEL 

The land for this building was formerly part 
of the burying-ground, but was taken by Governor 
Andros, in 1688, for an Episcopal church. No 
Puritan landholder of Boston could be found who 
would sell land for such a purpose. 

The present building dates from 1754, and is 
the second church on this ground. Its aspect 
has been changed but little since the Provincial 
days. The low, solid edifice of dark stone, with 
its heavy square tower, designed as the base of a 
tall and handsome steeple, which was never built, 
surrounded by wooden Ionic columns, stands just 
as it appears when it was the official church of 
the Royal governors. It is built of Quincy granite, 
but the city where these stones were quarried, 
at that time, was called Braintree. 

Peter Harrison, an Englishman, who came over 
in 1729, was the architect. His model was the 
familiar English church of the eighteenth century. 
So the visitors see in the fashion of its interior, 
its rows of columns supporting the ceiling, the 
antique pulpit and reading-desks, mural tablets 
and the sculptured monuments that line its walls, 
a pleasant likeness to an old London church. 
Among the tablets is one to the memory of Oliver 
Wendell Holmes. 

15 



This church was the first church in the United 
Colonies to have an organ. It was given hy 
Thomas Brattle, in 1756. This organ was in- 
tended for the Brattle Square Church, which was 
named after its donor, but it was believed by that 
congregation that an organ was an ungodly in- 
strument, and on the refusal of that church to 
install it, it was given to King's Chapel. In 1789 
it was removed to Portsmouth, N.H., where it is 
still in use. 

The same year the congregation raised by sub- 
scription five hundred pounds sterling, and pur- 
chased the organ, which has lately been removed. 
Up to the time of his death, Benjamin J. Lang, the 
famous choir master and organist, played it every 
Sunday, and he pronounced it the most beautiful 
instrument he had ever played on. 

In 1800 this church became a Unitarian church, 
the first in America. 

In 1 8 14 the first concert of the Handel and 
Haydn Society was held here. 

Governor John Winthrop is buried in the vault 
beneath this church. 



16 



The Old Custom House, Boston 




State and India Streets 



17 



OLD CUSTOM HOUSE 

This Is a large granite building, in the form of a 
Greek cross, in the Doric style of architecture. It 
was begun in 1837, and was about ten years in 
building. It is about one hundred and forty feet 
long and seventy-five feet wide at the ends, and 
ninety-five feet through the centre. It rests on 
over three thousand piles, over which a plat- 
form of granite, eighteen inches thick, is laid 
in cement. It cost the Government over one 
million dollars. 

The roof is ninety-five feet from the street, and 
supported by thirty-two fluted columns, each 
weighing forty-two tons. Some say sixty tons. 

One gentleman, in the Transcript, says, — 

"I saw sixty yoke of oxen and twelve horses 
on one sled, drawing these great columns." 

There is a large rotunda sixty-three by sixty- 
nine feet in diameter, and sixty-two feet high, in 
the Greek Corinthian style, the roof being sup- 
ported by twelve marble columns, three feet in 
diameter and twenty-nine feet high. 

The following, taken from the Youth's Compan- 
ion, explains the alterations now going on in and 
about the stately building, — 

"The present Custom House is a fine old build- 
ing in the Greek style, occupying a most advantage- 

18 



ous position on the square near the foot of State 
Street. Its ample breadth and depth, in propor- 
tion to its height, its weathered walls and massive 
columns, the very style of its architecture, indeed, 
speak of a bygone day of leisurely business methods 
and easy but ample wealth. 

" In its modern surroundings it is a picturesque 
and pleasing structure, and has always been re- 
garded as one of the show places of the city. 
Unfortunately, however, the import business has 
outgrown the facilities of the old building for hand- 
ling it. A new Custom House is necessary and 
has long been under discussion. The advantages 
of the present situation are such that after much 
consideration it has been decided to retain the old 
site; and partly perhaps from sentiment, and 
partly from motives of economy, the plan has 
been adopted of incorporating the old structure 
into the new. 

"No greater contrast could be imagined than 
that which will distinguish the building it is 
planned to ere :t from the present Custom House. 

"A tower four hundred and fifteen feet high and 
eighty feet square will be the principal feature of 
the new building. It will contain twenty stories, 
seventeen of which will rise above the roof of the 
present structure. To support the enormous 
weight of the tower, foundations based on caissons 
and steel and concrete piers will be sunk to a depth 

19 



of one hundred feet below the surface of the 
ground. 

" It is estimated It will take six months' time 
and cost three hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
to complete the foundations alone. 

"To many It will be a hiatter of regret that a 
building so thoroughly Identified as Is the present 
Custom House with the life of old Boston Is to 
pass out of existence, but there Is satisfaction In 
knowing that much more than the memory of the 
old building Is to become a part of the new struc- 
ture. Moreover, the height of the new building 
will make It, In the original meaning of the word, 
more a 'Landmark' than was the old, for It will 
be to all Incoming vessels the first seen and most 
conspicuous object In the city." 

The following, taken from the Boston Post, Is also 
Interesting, — 

"When several of the marble pillars that have 
graced the rotunda within the Custom House, 
for the last fourscore years, were removed a short 
time ago, the discovery was made that these pil- 
lars are not monolithic, as hitherto almost uni- 
versally believed, but are each formed of several 
pieces of marble. 

"The pillars within the Custom House, of which 
there are twelve, have been regarded as master- 
pieces of sculpture, In so far as they were consid- 
ered to consist each of one piece of marble. HIs- 

20 



tory and guide-books of Boston have made this 
assertion. 

" When the workmen engaged in renovating the 
building had stripped the pillars of all fixtures, 
and disconnected them from the ceiling and floor, 
Engineer Merrill and Superintendent Hunter 
examined the columns. On one of the pillars a 
scarcely perceptible black line was noticed. On 
closer scrutiny Mr. Merrill and Mr. Hunter came 
to the conclusion that they had before them one of 
the most skilfully joined marble pillars that a sculp- 
tor had ever turned out. 

"The other pillars were found to be of singular 
construction, some consisting of two and others of 
three pieces of marble." 



21 



Faneuil Hall, Boston 




Dock Square 



22 



FANEUIL HALL 

Called the "Cradle of Liberty" by 
John Adams 

This famous building was planned by Snybert, 
the celebrated Scotch architect. It was the gift 
of Peter Faneull, who lived on what Is now the 
corner of Washington and Summer streets. He was 
a direct descendant of the Huguenots, and was 
born in New Rochelle, N. Y., in 1700, and died In 
Boston, at the age of forty-three. It was said of 
him that he possessed a large estate and employed 
It In doing good. 

The hall was built and paid for, by him, and 
presented to the town of Boston for a market and 
public hall ; the hall to be for the perpetual use of 
the people of Boston, free of charge. 

What better way to perpetuate a name than to 
leave some such memorial as this ? Years roll 
along, gravestones are forgotten, but Faneuil Hall 
Is still standing, a monument to its giver. 

The original building was finished in 1743, when 
the first town-meeting was held there, just after 
the donor's death. It was destroyed by fire and 
rebuilt In 1762, when James Otis gave the dedi- 
cation address. 

Again burnt to the ground In 1767, it was re- 
23 



built in 1770, enlarged, and a third story added in 
1S05. 

Its walls have resounded to more genuine elo- 
quence than those of any other building in America. 
Here spoke the Adamses, Otis, Warren, Webster, 
and a host of others. Its walls are adorned by 
valuable works of art. Here are to be seen por- 
traits of Washington, Otis, Park, the Adamses, 
Hancock, Governor Andrew the War Governor of 
the days of the Rebellion, General Warren, Lin- 
coln, Everett, Commodore Preble, and Webster 
in the act of replying to Haynes in the United 
States Senate. 

The Ancient and Honorable Artillery have their 
armory on the upper floor of this building, and to 
see them as they gather in the square, with their 
varied and peculiar uniforms, hardly any two 
being alike, reminds one of Shakespeare, and Fal- 
staflF's army. 

The story is told of the Yankee boy who applied 
for aid to an American consul in a foreign port. 
He had some difficulty in proving that he was "a 
simon-pure American," but on being asked what 
the weathervane on Faneuil Hall was, properly 
answered "a grasshopper," and so it is. It was 
made by Shem Drowne, whose shop was in Ann 
Street, and Peter Faneuil ordered it made in this 
peculiar shape. It is stated by some that the crest 
of the Faneuils was a grasshopper. 

24 



In January, 1850, the children of Boston raised 
a fund and presented the clock now in the tower; 
and on January 14, 1950, the box containing all 
the names of those who contributed is to be 
opened. 



25 



Old Corner Book Store, Boston 




Washington and School Streets 



26 



OLD CORNER BOOKSTORE 

Built in 1712, and said to be the oldest building 
in Boston. Was built by Dr. Thomas Crease, and 
later known as the "Brimmer Mansion." It is 
noted as the resort of Dickens, Thackeray, Lowell, 
Longfellow, Holmes, Whittier, and many other 
poets and writers. Charles Dickens made this 
his headquarters, when on this side of the Atlantic. 

The Old Corner is one of the best known spots in 
this country, connected with the writing, printing, 
and publishing of books. It might be said of it 
that it has always been a bookstore. 

Mrs. Anne Hutchinson held her seances here 
in 1735. She was banished to New York in 1737, 
and killed by the Indians there in 1743. Soon 
after her death, her heirs sold it for sixteen hun- 
dred pounds to Edward Sohier. 

In 1795 Herman Brimmer, mentioned in the first 
Boston Directory of 1789, kept a bookstore here. 
In 1817 Dr. Samuel Clarke, father of the Rev. 
James Freeman Clarke, owned it. In 1828 Carter 
and Hendee succeeded Dr. Clarke. The same 
year Isaac Butler moved his printing-office to the 
upper part of the building. In 1832 Allen and 
Ticknor were proprietors of the bookstore. It was 
occupied continuously by Mr. Ticknor up to 1864. 
In 1867 the whole building was used by E. P. 

27 



Dutton. In 1869 Alexander Williams and Com- 
pany took possession, and in 1882 Cupples, Upham 
and Company, and Damrill, Upham and Com- 
pany, occupied it up to quite a recent date. 

Rev. Phillips Brooks, during the later years of 
his life, could often be found here meeting with 
kindred spirits, whose sole thought was the up- 
lifting of the fallen. 

It is now used as a cigar store. 



28 



Park Street Church, Boston 




Tremont and Park Streets 



29 



PARK STREET CHURCH 

This was called "Brimstone Corner" by its 
first pastor, Dr. Griffin, who was settled soon after 
the church was built, in 1810. 

It cost fifty thousand dollars, and Peter Barmer 
was the architect. He was an Englishman, and 
little is known regarding him. He designed the 
Bussey House at Jamaica Plain, so long the home 
of the historian. Motley, also the Hillside House at 
Roxbury, for many years the home of the Rev. 
Henry W. Dexter, first pastor of Berkeley Street 
Congregational Church. 

Dr. Griffin was followed by many noted men, 
who ably filled the pulpit. Among them was the 
Rev. Edward Beecher, Rev, Andrew L. Stone, 
W, H, H. Murray, David Gregg, I. J. Lancing, 
and Dr. Conrad. 

Its history is only equalled by that of the Old 
South Church. The first missionaries to the 
Sandwich Islands went forth from this church. 

Here "America" was first sung, on July 4, 1832, 
and among the audience at that time was the Rev. 
Edward Everett Hale, then a boy. Lowell Mason 
set Dr. Smith's words to music. On September 20, 
1862, the pastor, Rev. Andrew L. Stone, after 
speaking of the news from the seat of war, and the 
dreadful disaster to the Union Army at Antietam, 

30 



said, "I am going myself," and lie went as chap- 
lain of a regiment largely composed of young men 
from his church. 

According to the Rev. Parson Cooke, there is a 
tradition that the sidewalk, on Sunday mornings 
during the pastorate of Dr. Griffin, was sprinkled 
with sulphur in order to attract the attention of the 
passers-by. 

Remodelled in 1836 and again in 1900, it is one 
of the most beautiful buildings in Boston, and 
standing on one of its most conspicuous corners, 
it can be seen from many parts of the city. Its 
spire, modelled after St. Bride's Church, Fleet St., 
London, England, is said to be one of the finest 
in the United States. 

Some time during the forties, Marcus Whitman, 
a missionary to the Puget Sound Indians, addressed 
an audience in behalf of the acquisition of Oregon, 
Washington, and Idaho by this country, and so 
carried his hearers, that he was able to equip a 
caravan, which he conducted through the Rocky 
Mountains, and successfully took possession of this 
waste tract of land, which, without his efforts, 
would have belonged to-day to Canada. 

The first Sunday school in Boston was held here 
in 1817, and July 4, 1829, William Lloyd Garrison 
spoke here against the curse of slavery. 



31 



Old State House, Boston 




Washington and State Streets 



32 



Old State House 




Entrance to the Bostonian Society Rooms 



33 



OLD STATE HOUSE 

Here John Adams said : " Independence 
WAS Born " 

Built in 1713, the site of this building was set 
apart in 1634 by the citizens of the town of Boston 
as a market-place. It has never been widened or 
curtailed, and to-day, after nearly three centuries, 
it remains the same as when dedicated to the use of 
the public, so many years ago. 

In 1657 the first town house was erected by Cap- 
tain Robert Keayne, who organized the famous 
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company. He 
left three hundred pounds current money in his 
will for this purpose. The town house was totally 
destroyed by fire in 1711. 

In the old building Governor John Endlcott, 
Richard Bellingham, John Leverett, Simon Brad- 
street, Sir Edmund Andros, Sir William Phipps, 
and many other noted men presided at the Royal 
councils held here. 

The second building, erected in 17 13, the corner- 
stone of which was laid by Judge Samuel Sewall, 
was greatly damaged by fire in 1747. Again it was 
remodelled and restored in the following year. 

Governor Shirley, noted in Provincial annals for 
his great military expeditions against Louisburg, 
N.S., was the first to occupy it. 

34 



In 1760, the accession of George the Third as 
King of Great Britain was proclaimed from the 
balcony, which still remains under the east window,, 
In 1720 one hundred and three deputies of the "Old 
Bay State Colony" gathered here to make and 
revise the laws of the Colony. In 1769 this build- 
ing was used as a barracks by the British soldiers. 

"The Boston Massacre," on March 5, 1770, 
occurred just below the Old State House. 

On July 18, 1776, the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence was read from the east balcony. Another 
great day in this old building was when Governor 
Hancock was inaugurated. 

In 1789 Washington reviewed the great pageant 
that welcomed him to Boston. 

It was last occupied as the home of the Governor 
and his Council on January 11, 1798. From 1830 
to 1839 the building was used by the City Gov- 
ernment. 

In 1910 it was entirely restored to its original 
color and style, and is now, as it has been for many 
years, the Mecca of all sightseeing strangers who 
visit the Hub. 

It is now in charge of the Bostonian Society, of 
which Mr. Charles F. Reed of Brookline is secretary. 

The original Royal arms, since replaced by imi- 
tation, were taken from the building when the Brit- 
ish evacuated Boston, and are now in Trinity 
Church, St. John, N. B. 

35 



I 



Old Province House, Boston 





^^^^V^i ^-tf^H 


^^^^^B 3|~d.^^| 




^^^2 



Formerly stood on Washington Street, opposite Milk. 
This wall is on Province Court and is all that remains 
of the Old Province House 



36 



OLD PROVINCE HOUSE 

When you go into Province Court, that leads off 
Province Street, running between Bromfield and 
School, there is scarcely a piece of ground more 
historic In Boston than that upon which you are 
treading. 

Over on the left as you pass along, there Is an old, 
red brick building, and a part of this structure is 
the Identical wall that once sheltered nearly all the 
Royal Governors of the Massachusetts Colony. 

If this ancient partition, erected 220 years ago, 
could but speak, what stories might it not relate of 
grimly prim and austere old aristocrats, and pow- 
dered Royal officials who frequented the fine resi- 
dence of which it was a part. 

In those old days this house bore itself with aris- 
tocratic air, for it was frequented by the most not- 
able men of the day. 

The northerly wall of this building is now the 
only one Intact, although portions of the front wall 
facing toward Washington Street can still be seen in 
the rear of the buildings numbered 323 to 335. 

The old Province House estate is remarkable in 
never having been added to or curtailed since it 
was granted to one "Millard" at the first assign- 
ment of town lots in 1630. It was then known as 
the third lot south of the lane leading from the 

37 



great spring up Beacon Hill, now School Street, 
and is exactly opposite Milk Street on Washington. 

The lot changed hands once again before the his- 
toric mansion house was erected upon it by Peter 
Sargent, a wealthy merchant from London, in 1679. 
The elaborateness of the structure can be under- 
stood when it is known that the bricks used were 
imported from Holland. The front wall of the resi- 
dence faced Washington Street, and the wide lawn 
before it came to be adorned with shrubbery and 
stately trees. 

Peter Sargent dwelt In this building for twenty 
years. The wealthy old Tory during his residence 
here was appointed as one of the special judges to 
try the witches of the Colony, and no doubt he 
often sat within the mansion meditating upon the 
malevolence of those possessed of the "Evil One." 

But the event which was to lead to the apotheosis 
of the Sargent domicile occurred in 1699, when 
Boston, having been without a resident Governor 
for four years, received one in the person of the 
Earl of Bellomont. Before coming to the town he 
spent several months in New York, and when an 
obsequious council here notified him that the people 
here were already praying for him, there was a sus- 
picion of humor in the reply, which he sent by post, 
returning thanks and stating that he doubted not 
but he had fared the better for their prayers, though 
now in severe pain from the gout. 

38 



It was a momentous day in the town's history 
when his Highness, the Earl, arrived, riding on the 
first stage coach ever seen, and accompanied by a 
cavalcade, brilliant with court costumes of silk 
and velvet with jewelled buckles, ostrich plumes, 
and many strange furbelows. The arrival hap- 
pened on the day of the Ancient's May training, 
and there were trumpets, drums, bonfires, guns, and 
shoutings galore, and the reception to the Governor 
wound up with a grand dinner to his Lordship at 
the Blue Anchor Tavern. 

Then when the general welcoming was over, the 
new Governor, with his wife, Mme. Naufau, his 
kinswoman, and his retinue, were all invited to 
become the guests of Peter Sargent at his fine man- 
sion. From being a temporary guest, so pleased 
was Bellomont with the residence that he hinted 
a desire to have the place to himself for a per- 
manent residence, whereupon Peter Sargent loyally 
withdrew, leaving the Governor in full possession. 

One thing necessary to the establishment of a 
gentleman was wanting on Sargent's estate — a 
stable and coach-house — and so the Governor had 
to hire one, which was on the site of the present 
Paddock Building on Tremont Street, and belonged 
to Judge Sewall, who lived on the old site of the 
present court-house in Pemberton Square, then 
known as Cotton Hill, and sixty to eighty feet 
higher in his day than now. 

39 



In 1716 the Province purchased the estate for a 
Governor's building, it being very near the newly 
erected Town House, or the old State House, as it 
is to-day called. It was probable at this time that 
the cupola was added to the mansion to lend it 
dignity and eclat. The cupola was surmounted 
by the metal figure of an Indian, the emblem of the 
Province, bearing a bow and arrow. This figure 
now belongs to the Massachusetts Historical So- 
ciety, having been presented to the organization by 
Mrs. William Appleton in 1876. 

From the day of Governor Shute in 1716, until 
the morning of Evacuation Day, March 17, 1776, 
Province House remained the home of the Govern- 
ors of Massachusetts. The mansion was used for 
government offices during the Revolution, and in 
1780 it became the property of the State. Money 
was appropriated to have the building refitted 
for a Governor's house, but the plan was unsuccess- 
ful, and the mansion was finally sold to John Peck, 
recorded as a "broker at 33 Marlboro Street." 
Peck did not keep his part of the sale agreement, 
and the house reverted again to the State. It was 
used by Governor Strong during his term of office ; 
but after his retirement the famous mansion ceased 
finally to be the official residence of the Massachu- 
setts Governors. 

For many years prior to 1850, the old mansion 
was leased as a tavern, and it was then that Nathan- 

40 



iel Hawthorne made it the theme of certain stories 
in his "Twice Told Tales." 

In 185 1 James P. Ordway converted the build- 
ing into a music hall, and for several years it was 
used for negro minstrel performances, under the 
name of Ordway Hall. It was later known as the 
Morris Brothers, Pell and Trowbridge Opera-House, 
and thousands of Bostonians have witnessed the 
antics, and listened here to the minstrelsy, of Lon 
and Billy Morris and their fellow-artists in burnt 
cork. 

In 1864 the opera-house was destroyed by fire, 
but was rebuilt and used for the same purpose until 
1870. 

Although only two of the original walls are now 
left standing, an examination of the present con- 
dition of the structure by an architect to determine 
the possibility of restoring the building to Its former 
condition was recently Instituted by William 
Sumner Appleton, with the result that It was found 
impracticable of accomplishment. 

"The structure will probably remain as it now 
exists until 1917. When the lease expires It passes 
into the possession of the Massachusetts General 
Hospital." 

From the Boston Post of February 22, 191 1 : 

"George Washington, on his first visit to Boston, 
was a loser — at least at cards. 

"His diary states that during the Boston trip in 
41 



February, 1756, his expenses were thus increased, 
to the extent of ^5.55, in the currency of the United 
States to-day. 

" In George's own handwriting the entry appears 
thus: 'Lost at cards, i pound, 2 shillings, six- 
pence.' 

"The card game was played, it is understood, 
in what used to be the old Province House, which 
in those days stood on or near the head of Milk 
Street." 



42 



The Boston Museum, Boston. 




Formerly stood on Tremont Street, near Court. 
Demolished in June, 1903 



43 



BOSTON MUSEUM 

John B. Clapp, In his reminiscences, says, 
"With the passing of this building a bit of the city 
itself seems taken out of the life of all those who re- 
member this historic playhouse, when its company 
included many of the best players In the profession." 

Founded by Moses Kimball In November, 1846, 
as a Museum of Fine Arts, In deference to the 
wishes of the orthodox Christians, who would not 
go to a theatre, but would go to his Museum. 

Among the celebrated persons who have ap- 
peared on this stage are Adelaide Phillips, George 
Locke, William Warren, Gen. Tom Thumb, and 
many others. A list of the stars who appeared here 
would show, with but few exceptions, all the great 
American players of the last threescore years, 
while many of the foreign actors of world-wide 
reputation are also included. 

The last performance here was on June i, 1903, 
when the Empire Stock Company gave Henry 
Jones' play of "Mrs. Dane's Defence." A poem 
by Dexter Smith was read by Miss Margaret 
Anglln, and a short historical address by William 
Seymour, who for many years was stage manager. 

As the curtain descended at the close of the exer- 
cises, the audience arose to their feet and sang 

44 



"Auld Lang Syne," while tears coursed down the 
cheeks of many an old play-goer. 

No other place of amusement, either in America 
or in any foreign city, has the record of an unbroken 
success for sixty-two years. Early in the history 
of the house it was nicknamed the "Deacon's 
Theatre," on account of the strong support given 
it by those who would have been horrified to have 
been seen at the theatre, while they thought it 
perfectly proper to attend performances at the 
Museum. 

The Museum has stood for all that was best in 
dramatic art in America. 

The entire proceedings of the last performance 
were given to the Vincent Aiemorial Hospital, 
amounting to the large sum of ^2930. From the 
sale of the old costumes, play-bills, etc., quite a con- 
siderable sum was realized. 

The closing verses in Mr. Smith's poem are as 
follows : — 

"Boston Museum ! Name to conjure by; 
Is it a dream which brings an augury 
That on some favored spot there is to rise 
A splendid temple towering to the skies — 
The name — traditions — to perpetuate — 
Its classic fane to rehabilitate, 
Its prestige following, as 'twould beseem, 
Unto a grander, loftier academe ,'* 
45 



Magnificent the vision — sweet the song 
Sung by the siren Hope in accents strong ; 
Prophetic gleam of brilliancy to come 
Where Thespis finds a new congenial home ; 
Thalia her disciples shall unite ; 
Melpomene and Momus lend their light, 
And there the Drama's banner be unfurled 
To float a hope and blessing to the world ! 
The play is ended, and this playhouse, too, 
Is now to pass forever from our view ; 
This stage will darken as the curtain falls ; 
Oblivion craves these memory-haunted walls ; 
Farewell, old house, a tender, last farewell ! 
To all thy echoings we sound the knell ; 
We give the cue — one ne'er heard here before — 
'The rest is silence !' Now and evermore !" 

The poem contained tributes to all the old mem- 
bers of the stock company, and as each name 
was mentioned, the audience burst into applause. 
Especially prolonged was the enthusiasm at the 
mention of William Seymour, who finally came 
from behind the scenes to bow acknowledgment. 



46 



The Adams Homestead, Byfield 




47 



The Adams Homestead, Front Door 




This picture was taken at the Reunion of the Adams 
tribe, in July, 1905 



48 



ADAMS HOMESTEAD 

In Henry Sewall's will, dated August, 1678, he 
gave to his son-in-law, William Longfellow, and 
his daughter, Annie, the Highfield Farm, Mr. 
Longfellow went to England, but returned to this 
country in 1689. He enlisted in the expedition to 
Quebec, in 1690, and was drowned. He had six 
children, but Mr. Sewall's will was not probated 
until some ten years after Mr. Longfellow's death. 

In 1692 Henry Sewall conveyed the Highfield 
Farm to Henry Short and his wife, Annie Sewall 
Longfellow Short. They also had six children, and 
the title to the farm was vested in the surviving 
children of the Longfellows and Shorts. 

We are indebted to the present occupant, Mr. 
George W. Adams, for the following : — 

"Embowered in trees and nearly hidden from 
the highway by its winding lane in Byfield stands 
the quaint old Garrison House, to which many 
members of the Adams family, by birth or mar- 
riage, were invited for a reunion and family gather- 
ing Thursday, July 6, 1905. 

"Two hundred years ago this month Sergt. 
Abraham Adams received the deed of this place as 
'a settlement for' his son. Captain Abraham, who 
had previously been In possession through an un- 
derstanding with the uncle of his wife, Chief Justice 
B 49 . .. 



Samuel Sewall, to whom a very large tract of wild 
land in this vicinity belonged. This deed, written 
entirely by Sewall, is still preserved, and there has 
been no transfer for money since that June day in 
1705 ; all later conveyances being 'to my son, for 
the love and affection I bear him.' 

"The humble circumstances of the owners of this 
historic homestead have fortunately prevented the 
modern improvements, which have destroyed the 
character of most of the old houses in Essex County, 
and it stands to-day very much as it was when, in 
1775, the father and three sons went forth to long 
and honorable service in the Revolutionary War. 

" Here has been the home of eight generations 
of the family, and the sons of six generations have 
been born in the old southwest chamber. From 
this fireside have gone out men of distinction in 
every walk of life; here unremembered women 
have reared strong sons to subdue the wilderness ; 
to preach previous to 1742, two sons, twins, had 
been graduated from Harvard, of whom one 
founded the first church in what is now Lynnfield, 
while the other established the "Old South" in 
Newburyport; to heal, the first physician to prac- 
tice in the Merrimac Valley above Newburyport, 
came from this home ; to teach — and to develop 
the resources of this state and nation. 

"It was a beautiful day in the early spring when 
Mother Anne, leaving her household duties, went 

50 



across the field and sat down outside the wigwam 
to chat with the squaw. Prudent New England 
forethought had arranged that the kettle, already 
boiling merrily, should contain beef and turnips 
(it was before the day of potatoes) from home, and 
the social function seemed to be moving pleas- 
antly. A slight rustle, and turning, she saw the 
brave, who had come as silently as a shadow and 
now stood by her side erect, his blanket cast aside, 
and twined around his naked arm and shoulders an 
immense black snake held firmly by the neck. 
With the characteristic grunt of the Indian he 
saluted his guest, and stepped quickly forward and 
removed the cover from the kettle with his left 
hand, while with the other he deftly added the 
serpent, still writhing, to the stew. 

"Whether Mother Anne remained to partake of 
this stew is not reported, but most probably urgent 
business called her home before the time of eating 
had arrived. 

" Before a bridge had spanned the Merrimack 
three generations of this family had ploughed and 
sowed these fields. With incredible toil the land was 
won from the wilderness. To-day my good neigh- 
bor, the blood of whose son blends the stock of the 
oldest republic with our own, attaches two horses 
to a gig-like arrangement, and touching a lever, and 
turning a handle, the soil unfolds expectant of 
the seeding. Not so Abraham and his sturdy sons. 

51 



First with heavy loss a crop of rye was 'chopped' 
in among the stumps and fire-swept tree trunks. 
Then, as these obstructions had decayed, six pon- 
derous oxen and a pair of 'prentice steers were at- 
tached to the massive wooden plough, and with a 
man and boy to drive, a man, the strongest of the 
crew, to keep the plough upright by means of a 
nearly vertical handle, and with one or two men to 
'turn the sods,' the fields were prepared. I have 
talked with an old man many years ago who saw 
this field ploughed in that manner. 

"The labor of the women was no less arduous. 
At the east end of the house, close by the old well, 
now covered by one of Samuel Thurlow's mill- 
stones, stood the leach-tub, holding easily lOO 
gallons. I suppose some of the lye produced was 
used in the working of the flax ; the soap making 
followed the pig killing in the early spring. The 
beef " critters " were killed in the fall or early 
winter. Butcher and baker did not come for a 
hundred years. 

"Apples were early produced, being used for 
cider; forty barrels was the usual allowance put in 
for winter, being used as we now use tea and coffee, 
but there was no abuse of liquor. Here is the spirit 
jug of one of our ancestors, and once filling carried 
him through the six weeks of haying. 

"The Indians were always persistent beggars of 
cider, and one, after being repeatedly refused, came 

52 



with a basket filled with some gifts from the woods 
and craftily asking if 'Him Capt.' would not fill it 
with cider in return. "Him Captain" being per- 
sistent, our ancestor was finally induced to say 
"yes." 'Him Capt. wait a little,' said the Indian, 
who deftly attaching the basket to the old well- 
sweep a couple of immersions, with exposure to 
the keen winter wind, gave him a light receptacle 
for the coveted liquor." 

The following is taken from the Essex Antiqua- 
rian^ — 

"The last Indian of the neighborhood died on 
the door-stone of this house." 

One Indian was held as a slave by Samuel Adams 
(son of the builder), and his bunk is still to be seen 
in the old attic. 



S3 



The Washington Elm, Cambridge 




Garden Street, near Massachusetts Ave 



54 



THE WASHINGTON ELM 

In front of this elm is the following tablet : — 

"Under this tree Washington first took command 
of the American Army, July 3, 1775." 

Edward Winship purchased this land on which 
this tree now stands, in 1638, and mention is made 
in the deed of a " Large Elm Tree." This land 
comprised some three acres and extended from the 
corner of Brattle and Mason Street southeasterly to 
the Common. 

A hint as to the age of the tree is given in the 
fact that Washington had a platform placed within 
its branches, where he was enabled to overlook the 
army encamped on the Common. 

"A goodly elm, of noble girth 
That, thrice the human span — - 
While on their variegated course 
The constant seasons ran — 
Through gale, and hail, and fiery bolt, 
Had stood erect as man." 



55 



The Longfellow House, Cambridge 




105 Brattle Street 



56 



LONGFELLOW HOUSE 

Erected in 1759 by John Vassal, the younger, 
but later known as the Craigie House. 

In 1776 he left America for England, where he 
resided until his death in 1778. He was a Tory and 
was proscribed and banished and his estate con- 
fiscated by the new United States Government. 

Used by General Washington as his headquarters 
during the siege of Boston, from July, 1775, to April, 
1776. Here Washington passed his forty-fourth 
birthday, February 22, 1776, the only one he ever 
spent in Massachusetts, and with the exception of 
his forty-fifth, which was spent at Valley Forge, is 
recorded as the "saddest birthday of my life." 

Early in the morning he and his staff walked 
down what is now called Brattle Street, but in 
those days was rudely named "Tory Row," to 
President Landon's house, still standing on Massa- 
chusetts Avenue. Then they walked over to the 
banks of the Charles River, where, looking across, 
the British sentries could be seen pacing back and 
forth. He then returned to his breakfast, meeting 
on his way Colonel Knox, with his forty-two sleds 
loaded with cannon and other munitions of war, 
drawn by one hundred and sixty yoke of cattle. 
This cheered the general considerably, as he realized 

57 



that very soon the British would be forced to leave 
Boston. 

Colonel Glover's regiment from Marblehead was 
quartered at the Longfellow house at one time. Of 
his ten companies, every officer, soldier, and mu- 
sician was a resident of Marblehead, save eight 
men, — the only regiment in the war to be raised 
from a single town. 

The men's uniform was a blue round jacket and 
trousers trimmed with leather buttons, while Colo- 
nel Glover, himself, was said to be the most finely 
dressed officer of the day in the Continental army. 

This house was once owned by Nat Tracy, of 
Newbury, Mass. He married a daughter of Colo- 
nel Lee of Marblehead. 

The poet wrote in his study, which was the room 
used by Washington during his occupancy, and 
still remains just as the latter left it. In this 
room he wrote "Paul Revere's Ride" and "The 
Building of the Ship." 

Thomas Russell, Andrew Craigie, Jared Sparks, 
Edward Everett, and Joseph E. Worcester of dic- 
tionary fame were frequent visitors at this house. 

Longfellow's feeling for the old Colonial house 
was one of deepest veneration. He was never will- 
ing to make the slightest change in the smallest par- 
ticular, and it stands to-day as it was originally 
built by Colonel Vassal, with the wing enlarged by 
Dr. Craigie. 

58 



The Lowell House, Cambridge 




Elmwood Avenue, near Mt. Auburn Street 



59 



Tablet, Lowell House 




Corner Mt. Auburn and Brattle Streets 



60 



THE LOWELL HOUSE 

This interesting old mansion was built between 
1760 and 1767 by John Stratton, of whose heirs 
Lieutenant Governor Thomas Oliver purchased it. 
He was consul to the Crown in 1774, and being a 
Tory, his property was taken by confiscation. 

After the battle of Lexington, Benedict Arnold 
had his headquarters here. After the battle of 
Bunker Hill it was used as a hospital. 

Governor Elbridge Gerry, of Marblehead, one of 
the signers of the Declaration of Independence, 
and Vice-President of the United States in 181 3, 
also lived here. 

Later it became the property of the Rev. Charles 
Lowell, father of James Russell Lowell, who was 
born here February 22, 1819. 

Lowell's study was on the left of the entrance, 
and the room in the rear was the poet's library. 



61 



Tablet, Harvard Square, Cambridge 





H 


^H^H^H 


^^H 


^^^^B^^^HI^^^H 


^^^^^1 


^^^^^^^hh 


Hl^^l 


IB^W^^B 'r'nonoNT;')';.' '/^L droops 


SBHI 


HRBMH^^P lINDrn CO'v^MAND OF 


I' 'v*^ljL 


r SHB MNTRAl rRESCOTT 


jH 


■H|m|^^^H 


^' V'. '-■ ':■"',- "^M^^BI 


^^^^^^^^H , : 




^^^^^^^Hb 




^^^^^^^^H 




BB^BBI^^^^^^,^,^ ^ ^ ,. ..^ ^t .1^1 





Massachusetts Ave., near Garden St. 



62 



Bellingham-Cary House, Chelsea 




34 Parker Street 



63 



BELLINGHAM-CARY HOUSE 

This was built in 1670 on the old Gary Farm, hy 
Governor Richard Bellingham, who bought it from 
Samuel Maverick in 1635. This was the Gov- 
ernor's summer residence. His winter home, in 
Boston, was on what is now called Pemberton 
Square, and portions of the Suffolk County Court- 
house now stand where the Governor's house used 
to be. 

There is a secret passageway in the walls from 
the cellar to attic and this is the only house known 
to now exist in the Northern States with anything 
of that kind in it. 

One who visited it before the War of 181 2 says, 
"It is certainly as fine a specimen of a Colonial 
house as any one can meet with in a day's travel, 
and it bears with dignity the name of mansion." 

What was true nearly one hundred years ago is 
true to-day, and as it stands, surrounded by the 
new-fashioned houses which cluster all about it, 
it almost seems to say, " I was here before any other 
house in Chelsea, and I hope to remain for yet 
many a year." 

It is kept in first-class repair and seems to be able 
to stand for many a year as a landmark of great 
historic interest and value. 

64 



Richard Belllngham came from England in 1634 
and became one of the wealthiest and most exten- 
sive landowners of his day. In 1641 he was ap- 
pointed Governor, serving ten years in that capac- 
ity, and thirteen years as Deputy Governor. He 
was twice married, and it is stated that his coming 
to this country was caused by the refusal of a cer- 
tain lady in England to become his wife, whom he 
had been engaged to for many years, but who 
finally discovered that some one else suited her best. 
He is said to have never referred to this incident 
in his after life, either by word of mouth or in any of 
his writings or letters he left behind. 

He married Penelope Pelham for his second wife 
and performed the ceremony himself. For this 
he was prosecuted, but refusing to leave the bench 
as deputy judge, he officiated at his own trial and 
declared himself "not guilty." 

His wife's brother, Herbert Pelham, was the first 
Treasurer of Harvard College, and Pelham, N.H., 
was named after the Governor's wife. 

Bellingham's sister was executed as a witch in 
1656, being the second victim of that absurd 
fanaticism. Some one has said she was hung be- 
cause she knew much more than her neighbors; 
and another has said, she proved that she was a 
spirit, for, being locked securely in one room, 
she soon appeared at a window in another room. 
Evidently she knew of the secret passages and 

65 



traps that others did not, but for some reason 
refused to explain. 

About 1749 a gentleman by the name of Cary 
married a Miss Belllngham, and since that time 
it has remained in the Gary family. 



65 



The Way-Ireland or Pratt House, Chelsea 




481 Washington Avenue 



^1 



PRATT HOUSE, CHELSEA 

Built in 1680 by Thomas Pratt, who came from 
Maiden to Winnisimmet a year or two previous 
and bought the Way-Ireland Farm, which in- 
cluded all that part of Chelsea now called Pratt 
Farm. 

" In all our search for famous old country houses, 
rarely, if ever, have we found one more satisfy- 
ing to the eye than this old Pratt House. The 
peculiar shape of the roof, the sturdy independ- 
ent way in which it stands, almost seems to say, 
"I was here first. What are you doing around 
here?" 

Here Increase Mather, President of Harvard 
College from 1684 to 1700, and pastor of the North 
Church in Boston sixty-two years, took refuge 
from the persecution of Governor Andros, He 
finally escaped to England, where he obtained a 
new charter for the Colony. It may be supposed 
that his escape was by way of Snake River, that 
at one time ran close to the bottom of the bluff on 
which the old house stands. 

Not a few stories are told about the way in 
which the Pratt family used to entertain their 
guests, and who often were refugees from other 
Colonies on account of some petty misdemeanor. 

68 



It has always been occupied by some member 
of the Pratt family. The last survivor, Mrs. 
Rebecca Pratt, died here in June, 1900. She was 
a real daughter of the Revolution, her father hav- 
ing been in the Colonial army. 



69 



Tablet, Washington Park, Chelsea 




70 



TABLET, WASHINGTON PARK 

The old stone of which this tablet is made used 
to be a doorstep in the old Pratt House, which 
stood nearly opposite the one whose picture is 
seen on page d']. 

Washington rested here many times during the 
siege of Boston, when it was his custom to visit 
all of the outposts once each week, and as he rode 
from point to point, he examined the fortifications 
and barracks, and encouraged the militia to re- 
newed efforts to make the British, cooped up in 
Boston, still more uncomfortable than they were 
at that time. 

It was built by James Pratt in 1660 and demol- 
ished some years ago. 



71 



Tablet, Pratt School, Chelsea 




Washington Avenue 



72 



PRATT SCHOOL 

"This site is a part of the allotment by the 
Town of Boston to Sir Harry Vane, in 1638, who 
was Governor' of Massachusetts in 1636. This 
building fronts the first county road in the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony. Nearly opposite, stood the 
old Pratt House, in which General Washington 
was entertained in 1775. This locality was an 
outpost of the left wing of the American army dur- 
ing the siege of Boston, 1775-1776." 

The house referred to above and the one on 
page 67 are said to have been built by two broth- 
ers, Pratts, and were exactly alike, so that when 
looking on the picture of the one still standing, it is 
easy to see with your mind's eye how the one torn 
down used to look. 

There are few more sightly spots about Boston 
than where this house used to stand, and we can 
well understand why the colonists made this spot 
an important outpost. 

The Pratt descendants are still numerous in 
this vicinity, and very many of those living on 
Harvard Street, Washington Avenue, Freemont 
Avenue, and Nichols Street have some memento of 
the days when to be able to count yourself a 
"Pratt," or one of their descendants, was thought 

73 



more of in Chelsea, than to be a "Vanderbilt" or 
an "Astor" in New York City to-day. 

The following, from the Boston Transcript of 
March 12, 1911, seems appropriate here: — 

"It was stated by 'Rockingham,' October 24, 
1908, that the two most prominent men who went 
from the Colony of Massachusetts Bay to England 
and served in the parliamentary army, were Henry 
Vane and George Downing, both knighted after 
leaving the Colony." 

During the recent visit of four American battle- 
ships in the Thames, the American sailors and 
marines, the Duke of Cornwall's regiment, and the 
mayor and city officials of Gravesend, attended 
morning service at St. George's Parish church in 
that place, on Sunday, November 27, 1910. The 
naval, military, and civic procession, which, with 
British and American flags and music, presented 
a very imposing spectacle, was received at the 
church door by the rector, clergy, and church 
wardens. 

The rector. Rev. Canon E. L. George, M.A., in 
the course of his appropriate and impressive ser- 
mon, said, incidentally, that "he was in the crypt 
of an old Kentish church not long ago, which con- 
tained a leaden coffin, in which were the remains of 
Sir Henry Vane, a governor of Massachusetts, 
who was brought over to England to be executed." 

"Vane returned to England in August, 1637," 
74 



and was not beheaded for treason until June 14, 
1662, after the restoration of the monarchy. 

There is a statue of Sir Henry Vane in the vesti- 
bule at the entrance of the Boston Public Library. 

The inscriptions on it are : — 

" Sir Henry Vane 

Governor of the 

Colony of Massachusetts Bay 1636 

Born 1612 Beheaded, 1662 

An ardent defender of civil liberty and 

advocate of free thought in religion 

He maintained that God, law and parliament 

are superior to the King 

This statue was placed here at the request of 

James Freeman Clarke, D.D., an honored citizen 

of Boston, who nobly labored for the abolition 

of slavery in America " 

"But it pleased God to stir them up such friends, 
viz.. Sir Henry Vane, who had some time lived at 
Boston, and though he might have taken occasion 
against us for some dishonor which he apprehended 
to have been unjustly put upon him, yet both now 
and at other times he showed himself a true friend 
of New England and a man of noble and gracious 
mind." 



75 



Moses Porter House, Danvers 




Formerly stood on Locust Street and demolished in 
August, 1902 



76 



MOSES PORTER HOUSE 

Built in 1638. Originally used as an Indian 
garrison house. 

Moses Porter was born here, in this sturdy old 
farm-house, in 1757. He began his army career at 
the age of eighteen, enlisting in Captain Trebett's 
Artillery Company, May 19, 1775. He helped 
work one of the guns at the battle of Bunker Hill, 
and it is said that he attracted general attention 
by his heroic courage and indomitable pluck, on 
that occasion serving as a volunteer in Gridley's 
Artillery Company. He also served in Captain 
Thomas Foster's Company during the siege of 
Boston. He was made a Lieutenant in 1780 and 
rose to be a head of the artillery branch of the 
Colonial army. He was at the battle of Brandy- 
wine and was wounded in an engagement on the 
Delaware River, below Philadelphia. He also 
served under General Wayne, in the Indian cam- 
paign, and commanded the artillery during the 
War of 1812. While still in active service, he 
died in Cambridge, 1822, and was buried in Dan- 
vers. 

It is said of him that "No soldier who fought at 
Bunker Hill remained as long a soldier of the 
United States as he did, and none had so extended 

11 



a record, and it was bright from beginning to 
end." 

This house was also the rendezvous of a company 
of British soldiers at the time General Gage occu- 
pied the Collins House, shown on page 86, as his 
headquarters. This house was owned by Zerub- 
babel Rea, up to 1687. He died in 1739, in the 
Rea-Fowler house, shown on page 79. 

He was the grandson of Daniel Rea, who was the 
patriarch of the Rea family in America. Dr. Ca- 
leb Rea was born here. 

Dr. Rea was a surgeon in a regiment on the ex- 
pedition against Ticonderoga. The doctor's sister, 
Sarah, married Benjamin Porter, and they were 
the parents of General Moses Porter. 

In 1902 this place was sold to Mr. A. C. Watts, 
London, England, who, desiring to have the old 
house removed, that he might erect a modern 
residence on this site, he offered it to the Danvers 
Historical Society if they would remove it; but 
that organization could not see their way clear to 
move and fix up the old house, and it was sold at 
auction, August 6, 1902, to Mr. M. H. Berry, for 
iwenty-one dollars. 

This picture was taken the day after the sale, 
and Mr. Berry had already begun to tear down the 
rear of this old house. 



78 



Rea-Putnam-Fowler House 




Locust Street 



79 



REA-PUTNAM-FOWLER HOUSE, DANVERS 

Built In 1632 by Daniel Rea. Owned by Deacon 
Edmund Putnam and his descendants since 1654. 
His granddaughter married Augustus Fowler, who 
was a celebrated naturalist. 

On the farm are traces of an artificial canal for 
irrigation, an ancient brickyard, and a chocolate- 
mill. 

Augustus Fowler's children's children's children 
still play In the potter's clay found along the brook- 
side, and romp under the large chestnut trees 
near by. 

Deacon Archelaus Putnam, who built the Tide- 
water Grlst-MIU, shown on page 81, was a son of 
Edmund Putnam, and lived here when he built 
the mill. He afterwards removed to Water Street, 
Danversport, 

Zerubbabel Rea, grandson of Daniel Rea, who 
built the Porter House, shown on page 76, was also 
born in this house. 



80 



Tidewater Mill 




Water Street, Danversport 



8i 



TIDEWATER MILL, DANVERSPORT 

In 1754 Archelaus Putnam established this 
mill on what was then called Crane River. This 
part of Salem was at that time called New Mills. 
He built the grist-mill, the oldest of which is called 
the Lummis Mill, and that is the one in this pic- 
ture. 

A year or two later Mr. Putnam built a wheat- 
mill and also a saw-mill, but the sites of both of 
these have long ago been forgotten. 



82 



Ingersoll House, Danvers 





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Centre Street 



83 



Ingersoll Tablet 




Centre Street 



84 



INGERSOLL TABLET 

"Deacon Nathaniel Ingersoll lived 1634- 
1719. Gave this land to the inhabitants of Salem 
village as a Trayning Place forever. To the 
memory of him, and of the brave men who have 
gone hence to protect their homes and to save 
their country, this stone is erected by the Town, 
1894." 



85 



King "-Hooper House, Danvers 




Sylvan and Collins Streets 



86 



Entrance to " King "-Hooper House 



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"KING "-HOOPER HOUSE 

This was the headquarters of General Gage ; 
sometimes called "The Lindens," from the beauti- 
ful trees of that description that surrounded it. 
Built in 1750 by Robert Hooper of Marblehead, 
who used this handsome house as a winter resi- 
dence, living part of the year at Marblehead. 

General Gage occupied this during 1774, when 
the General Court convened at Salem, while the 
Boston Port Bill was in operation after the change 
from a Colony to a Republic. 

Mr. Hooper lost his fortune, and Judge Benjamin 
Collins purchased ths estate. Afterwards Rev. P. 
S. Tenbrock, a grandson of the Revolutionary 
general, carried on a young ladies' school here for 
many years. 

It is now occupied by Mr. Francis Peabody, who 
has restored it so that to-day it stands as one of 
the best preserved residences of the Revolutionary 
era anywhere in eastern Massachusetts. 

The house stands on a twenty-acre lot, formerly 
laid out and entered in the name of Governor Endi- 
cott. 

While General Gage was living here, the people 
of the neighborhood became so exasperated at 
some of his war orders, that his life was threatened, 
and towards the last of his residence here, he was 



constantly surrounded by British soldiers. The 
countrymen nicknamed the redcoats "lobsters," 
from the color of their uniforms, and the feeling 
became so strong in this neighborhood that it was 
necessary for one hundred soldiers to accompany 
him to and from his war office at the Page house, 
and "The Lindens" were constantly protected 
by three lines of pickets while the general remained 
there. 



89 



Upton Tavern, Danvers 




Corner Holton-Centre and Collins Streets 



90 



UPTON TAVERN 

This was built in 1710 by Walter Smith, and 
afterwards owned by George Upton. 

During Revolutionary days Danvers was at its 
best. Distinguished generals and colonels, gal- 
lant captains and their troops, made lively the 
old town, which now appears to the casual visitor 
almost to have gone to sleep. 

Stage-coaches from Newburyport and Ports- 
mouth called at this tavern to change horses, 
while the Andover and Reading stage wagons 
made this their halfway stop to Boston. 



91 



Putnam House, Danvers 




Dayton Street 



92 



PUTNAM HOUSE 

The J. H. Putnam house was built in 1650 by 
Sergeant Thomas Putnam. This house and farm 
has continued in the Putnam family until quite 
recently, but within a short time it has been sold. 

The sergeant gave this house and land to his 
daughter, Annie. It is said that Annie was 
perhaps the originator of the witchcraft illusion, 
although at the time, 1692, she was only twelve 
years old. Afterwards she repented of the evils 
she had done and joined the church. She was 
never married and died in 1716. 

The property passed to her brother, Thomas 
Putnam, Jr. 

It is interesting to note that there were seventy- 
five soldiers by the name of Putnam at Lexington 
on the 19th of April, 1775. 



93 



Colonel Israel Hutchinson's House, Danvers 




Centre Street, beyond Newbury Street 



94 



COLONEL ISRAEL HUTCHINSON HOUSE 

This was built In 1726. It stands back to the 
street, facing the open fields. Here on Novem- 
ber 27, 1741, was born Israel, son of Elisha. In 
early life he was one of the scouting party In the 
Maine woods, sent after the Indians. 

He was at Ticonderoga and Lake George, and 
with General Wolfe when he scaled the Heights of 
Abraham at Quebec. He was in command of the 
company of minute men on the morning of April 
19, 1775, at Lexington. This company, from 
Salem village, he led sixteen miles across the 
country in less than four hours; and they arrived 
at West Cambridge, now West Somervllle, in time 
to assist in fighting the redcoats, and annoyed 
them all the way to Charlestown Neck. 

In reading this, you must remember there were 
no such roads in those days as exist to-day, and 
I very much doubt. If now any such quick response 
to the call of Liberty could be equalled by the 
militia of the present day. 

He was lieutenant-general in command of the 
artillery at Bunker Hill, and was present at the siege 
of Boston, commanding at what then was known 
as Fort Hill, but which has all been removed by 
the modern march of civilization, the earth from 

95 



this hill having been used in building Atlantic 
Avenue. 

For twenty-one successive years he was elected 
to the Senate, the House, or the Governor's Council. 
He died in 1811. 



96 



Colonel Hutchinson's Monument, Danversport 





-_ ._ ■ ^- 





Rear of Railroad Station 



97 



COLONEL HUTCHINSON'S MONUMENT 
Front 

"Israel Hutchinson, 1727-1811. Served his 
country as a Sergeant in the Company of Rangers, 
1737. A Lieutenant at Lake George and Ticon- 
deroga, 1758; Captain at Quebec, 1759; Captain 
at battle of Lexington, 1775 ; Colonel at siege of 
Boston, New York, New Jersey, crossing of the 
Delaware and Trenton. His men manned the 
boat in the retreat from Long Island. 

" Representative and Councillor twenty-one 
years, an honorable citizen and loyal soldier." 



98 



Judge Holton's House, Danvers 






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Built in 1650 by Judge Benjamin Holton, after whom 
the street on which the house stands was named 



99 



JUDGE HOLTON'S HOUSE 

Built in 1650 by Judge Benjamin Holton, after 
whom the street on which the house stands was 
named. 

In 1678 the judge was said to be one of the ablest 
lawyers and justices in this country, and his deci- 
sions attracted the highest notice and praise. It is 
said that no decision ever made by him was re- 
versed by a higher court, and his decisions are 
quoted to-day in many important cases regarding 
transfer of land and liability from damages arising 
from neglect of towns to keep their streets in good 
condition. 

His grandson, Dr. Samuel Holton, was a repre- 
sentative of Danvers to the General Court, in 1768. 
He was born in this house in 1738, and died here in 
1816. 

He ably filled his grandfather's place, being not 
only an excellent and skilful physician, but almost 
as well posted in law as was his grandfather; and 
it is said that it was the delight of the inhabitants 
to find them arrayed on opposite sides of the ques- 
tion at town meetings, as the legal points brought 
out and the eloquence displayed by both were not 
only interesting but instructive. 

Samuel Holton, Jr., the doctor's grandson, died 
in this house in 1853. 

100 



Thirteen generations have occupied the home ; 
and Miss Fannie F. Putnam, who now resides 
here, is a direct descendant of the judge. 

It is one of the old homes so rarely kept in the 
same family for many years, and is well worth a 
visit by those interested in historical houses. 



loi 



Wadsworth House, Danvers 




Centre Street 



I02 



WADSWORTH HOUSE 

This was built by Dr. Benjamin Wadsworth 
about 1760, who was said to be a dignified, stately, 
decorous, measured, devout, and wise man, who 
saved many lives and did more good during his 
lifetime than any other five men of his town. 

Many persons owe their lives to his skill and 
carefulness. 



103 



Page House, Danvers 




Corner Elm and High Streets 



104 



PAGE HOUSE, DANVERS 

Built by Colonel Jeremiah Page during the 
middle of the eighteenth century. He was a 
native of Medford, Mass., and came to work for 
Daniel Andrews in Putnamville. He afterwards 
married Sarah, his master's daughter, and through 
her acquired title to the land on which he built 
this old house. 

He was a brickmaker by trade and at one time 
owned a clay-pit on what is now High Street, and 
the larger quantity of brick used in this neighbor- 
hood was made at his kiln. He commanded a 
company of minute men at Lexington. He also 
was the first Colonel of the Essex Regiment. 

Here General Gage, the last of the Royal officials 
who then lived at the " Lindens," had his war office. 

The General often climbed to the top of this 
house to view the ships, as they came up Salem 
harbor. 

This gambrel-roof house is certainly a most 
interesting old mansion. 

Here was the scene of the bloodless battle over 
tea, which occurred between the Colonel and his 
spouse, who was a Tory. He forbade the use of 
tea in his house; but his wife, Sally, invited all her 
Tory friends to a tea-party on the roof of the house, 
thus obeying and yet disobeying the Colonel's 

105 



strict command. It is stated that the Revolu- 
tionary soldiers from about Essex County often 
referred to Colonel Page as "cold tea." 

This little incident shows the truth of the old 
adage, "When a woman wills, she wills," for while 
in one sense obeying the Colonel's orders, she 
really outwitted him ; and to-day a woman who 
makes up her mind to a thing generally carries it 
through successfully. 



1 06 



First Church Parsonage, Danvers 




Centre Street, beyond Collins 



107 



FIRST CHURCH PARSONAGE 

This interesting old house was built In 1760. It 
stands on the site of the old parish house, and part 
of the timbers In this house were taken from that 
old house when It was torn down. The Rev. 
Samuel Parrlsh, who was the first pastor of the 
First Church, was the one In whose family the first 
symptoms of witchcraft were discovered. 

Increase Mather was a frequent visitor to Mr. 
Parrish's family during the witchcraft delusion. 

The Rev. Joseph Green, Dr. Milton P. Brown, 
Rev. Mr. Wadsworth, and Rev. C. H. Adams have 
all resided here. 



108 



Site of the First Shoe Factory in America, 
Danvers 





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Formerly stood on Locust Street 



109 



First Shoe Factory in America, Danvers 




IIO 



"FIRST NEW ENGLAND SHOE FACTORY" 

While the present factory system In the shoe- 
making business dates practically from the Intro- 
duction of shoe machinery shortly before the Civil 
War, New England had shoe shops much earlier. 
They were all small, and the work was done by 
hand. 

Marblehead, Lynn, Peabody, and Danvers had 
numbers of these small shoe shops, some of them 
dating back to the early part of the last century. 
Only a few were older than that ; and without ques- 
tion the one shown here, which up to twenty-five 
years ago stood on Locust Street, was the oldest 
of them all, the first shoe factory In New England, 
In short. 

This building became a shoe shop In 1786. It 
was previously a currying shop, having been built 
for that purpose by Zerubbabel Rea, shortly after 
1724. 

Rea employed Bartholomew Brown, who mar- 
ried his daughter Sarah. Brown died, and the 
widow married Benjamin Porter, who continued the 
currying business. The building was enlarged, and 
Zerubbabel Porter, a brother of Benjamin, took 
the upper story, Installed shoemakers in It, and 
began making shoes there In 1786. 

Ill 



Other factories came into the neighborhood, for 
in 1797 Moses Putnam had one, and soon after- 
wards Elias Endicott. 

Zerubbabel Porter was a farmer prior to taking 
up shoe manufacturing, and had but one arm. 



112 



Clark House, Danvers 




Centre Street, beyond Collins 



113 



CLARK HOUSE 

This was built during the seventeenth century, 
the exact date unknown, by Peter Clark, who was 
said to have been a steady, decorous man ; whose 
reputation long lingered after his death In the 
lives of all who knew him. 

He married Sally Hobart (a street In Danvers Is 
named for her), and many of their descendants 
became famous ministers, doctors, and merchants. 

It was the home of Joseph Putnam, the son of 
Lieutenant Thomas Putnam, and grandson of John 
Putnam. Joseph Putnam was also the father of 
General Israel Putnam. 



114 



Blake House, Dorchester 




Cottage Street, near Columbia Road 



"5 



BLAKE HOUSE 

This inscription is on the gable of the house : — 
"Ye olde Blake house, built about 1650." 

William Blake, the builder of this house, was a 
passenger on the John and Mary, a small schooner 
which landed its passengers somewhere on the 
shores of what is now called Dorchester Bay. 

Dorchester was settled in 1630, some weeks 
previous to the settlement of Boston, and some 
records seem to show that this house was built as 
early as 1642, the year after Blake arrived in the 
colony. 

Deacon James Blake was born here in 1660. He 
was town treasurer, selectman, and assessor twenty- 
five years, and town clerk twenty-four years. By 
occupation he was a surveyor, and his earnest and 
careful work was extensive and gave excellent 
satisfaction. His "Annals of Dorchester" are a 
minute history of the town for one hundred and 
twenty years. He died In 1732. 

Dorchester was the first settlement In what is 
now called Suffolk County and was the first town 
to have any sort of town government, which was 
organized October 8, 1630, by the selection of 
twelve selectmen, "who were to meet each month 

116 



to perform the necessary duties appertaining to 
their office." 

This house has lately been restored to its original 
form and is one of the places worth seeing in the 
vicinity of Boston. 



117 



Meeting-House Hill Church, Dorchester 




Bowdoin Street, near Quincy 



ii8 



MEETING-HOUSE HILL CHURCH, 
DORCHESTER 

This society is the oldest in Boston. It was 
organized in Plymoutli, England, in March, 1630, 
on the eve of the embarkation of the Puritans. 
John Maverick and John Wareham were the first 
ministers. The first religious service was held in 
the open air in Dorchester, the first Sunday in 
June, 1630. 

The first meeting-house was built on the corner 
of Pleasant and Cottage Streets. It was a log 
house, protected by palisades against the Indians. 
In 1645 a more expensive structure was erected 
here, and in 1670 it was moved to Meeting-House 
Hill, which derived its name from the church 
which for over two hundred years has remained on 
this site. In 1677 it was succeeded by another 
edifice, which cost 200 pounds, and was paid for 
by Isaac Royal. In 1743 a new house was built, 
which stood until the erection, in 1816, of the build- 
ing which was destroyed by fire on February 3, 
1896. 

The present building is an exact duplicate of the 
one it replaced. Only eight ministers, in a period 
of two hundred and fifty years, have officiated here. 



119 



Second Congregational Church, Dorchester 
"Dr. Little's" 




Washington and Centre Streets 



1 20 



SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 

This church was organized in January, 1808, 
by sixty-four members, who had all belonged to 
the First Church and only separated from the 
parent church in consequence of the large number 
of members who could not all be accommodated, 
and who separated with earnest, mutual expressions 
of good will. 

Dr. John Codman was the first pastor and was 
connected with the church for forty years. 

This present church was dedicated October 30, 
1808. Built of wood, plain but spacious, and 
tasteful, it is still occupied by the society. In 
January, 1908, the church was badly damaged by 
fire, but has been restored to its original form. 



121 



Mayflower School, Dorchester 




Dorchester Avenue, near Crescent Avenue 



122 



MAYFLOWER SCHOOL 

This building stands on the site of the first 
free school built in British North America, in 1635, 
on land purchased by the Rev. John White, in 
163 1, from an Indian chief, the successor of 
"Chickatawbut." 

Dorchester was named in honor of Rev. Mr. 
White, who left Trinity Parish, Old Dorchester, 
England. 

In 163 1 Boston was called "Tri-mountaine." 
Mattapan was known as Dorchester, and all the 
settlements along the Charles River were called 
by the common name of Watertown. Dorchester 
plantation was the first organized town in America. 
No town shows a more democratic spirit than 
Dorchester up to the time it was annexed to Boston, 
in 1870. 

A tax was raised in 1639 to support this school, 
the first public school in America, and in 1645 
Robert Howard, Deacon John Wiswall, and Humph- 
rey Atherton were elected to be wardens, or school 
overseers, thus commencing the office of "School 
Committee Men," who ever since that day have 
had charge of all the public schools. 

In 1657 one thousand acres of land was set apart 
by vote of the town, "This land to be sold and the 
proceeds used from time to time, to educate the 
young of this town." 

123 



Pierce House, Dorchester 




Oak Avenue, near Adams Street 



124 



PIERCE HOUSE 

This was built in 1638 by Robert Pierce, and is 
the second oldest house in the United States. It 
is still owned by direct descendants of its original 
builder. 

Robert Pierce and family were passengers in 
the John and Mary, which sailed from England 
in 1642. Marion Harland has written of the 
Pierces, of whom there have been many in Dor- 
chester : "The American branch of this ancient 
race were people of marked individuality from the 
date of their landing. To frugality and indepen- 
dence they added stern integrity, strong wills, 
bravery, and, like sparks struck from iron, fire of 
disposition and speech, that kept alive, in the war 
of contemporaries, the tale of the hotspur blood." 

William Dana Orcutt has given us this descrip- 
tion of the Pierce house in his "Good Old Dor- 
chester " : — 

"Great beams, twelve by fourteen inches thick, 
are pinned together like the ribs of a ship, giving a 
heavy appearance to the low wainscoted rooms. 
The deep windows, with window seats, are closed 
with the same wooden shutters which were put up 
to defend the early occupants from the attacks of 
the Indians. Between the outer and inner wall is 
the identical seaweed gathered when the house was 

125 



first built, to serve the double purpose of protect- 
ing the inmates from the severe cold of the winter, 
and also to serve as a safeguard against the sharp 
arrows of the savages. 

"As a further protection from Indian attacks, 
there was a trap door in the garret, which led to a 
secret chamber so ingeniously constructed that, 
now the floor has been laid solidly above it, one 
examines the lower story in vain for a trace of the 
room, which is at least six feet square." 

A loaf of bread, said to be over two hundred years 
old, is preserved in a glass jar in this house. 



126 



Barnard Capen House, Dorchester 




Front View 

Formerly stood on Washington Street, opposite Melville 
Avenue, but was demolished in 1908. 



127 



Barnard Capen House 




Side View 



128 



BARNARD CAPEN HOUSE 

At the time it was demolished it was said to be 
the second oldest, if not the very oldest, house now 
standing in New England. 

"The ancient mansion was one of the first to be 
erected on the arrival of the colonists who sailed 
from England on the Mary and John under the 
leadership of the Rev. John White, in 1630. 
Barnard Capen, then aged 68, was solicited to 
accompany the expedition on account of his 
integrity and sage advice. 

"The original house, believed to be a lean-to, or 
back part of the present house, was composed of 
two large rooms and was considered aristocratic 
because of the large chimney that rose from the 
monster fireplace along the front of the house. 
The ceilings of the old house are but seven feet 
high. 

"When a two and one-half story addition was 
added to the house, one hundred years later, the 
chimney was nearly hidden from view. The top 
of the chimney, however, can still be seen. 

" Inside the house, the woodwork was all pine, 
hewn by hand, and exposed to the interior of the 
room. Even the boards for the floor were shaped 
with an adz. 

" Evidence of the trouble sometimes experienced 
K 129 



by Barnard Capen and his family with the tribe 
of Massachusetts Indians Is still apparent from 
holes believed to have been made by the red men's 
arrows. This fact was borne out, as several 
arrows were discovered In the home, when It was 
torn down. 

" In some places where the stout pine and oak 
were exposed to the elements, for the past 170 
years, the wood had crumbled to dust. In spite 
of this, however, much of the antique beauty of 
the place remained." 

The following editorial, from the Bostoji Tran- 
script, Is of interest, as showing the feeling regard- 
ing the preserving of this old house. 

"It was one of the first houses built In the town 
after the arrival of the colonists, who emigrated 
from England under the guidance of Rev. John 
White, so often called 'Father of the Colony.' 

" With the exception of one year. It has always 
remained In the possession of the family. The 
west end of the house was built first. One side 
of the original building shows an arrangement 
whereby the inmates could better protect them- 
selves from the wily and unruly tribe of Indians, 
known as the Massachusetts, whose hostilities 
the wise and judicious chief, Chlckatawbut, often 
found it Impossible to control. Several arrows, 
sent into this early New England home, have been 
found as a reminder of those troublesome days. 

130 



" Inside the living rooms the ceilings are very 
low, the highest measuring not more than seven 
feet. The beams, projecting below the plaster, 
were all hand hewn, as were also the clapboards and 
lumber for the floors. Originally the house con- 
tained but two rooms, the larger having an im- 
mense fireplace, which carried the major portion 
of heat up the chimney. The east end of the house 
was erected one hundred years after the main 
building, and contains what was then called "many 
modern improvements." These somewhat altered 
the primitive aspect of the building, concealing 
the huge brick chimney, which in those days was 
considered a decided ornament. 

"Through all these years the estate has been 
kept in excellent repair. 

"When planning for the embarkation of the 
party of colonists which left Plymouth, England, 
on the Mary and John, March 30, 1630, great care 
was taken to select men of sound mind and body. 
Two members of the English Government were 
chosen ; also young and active men like Israel 
Stoughton and others. Several people well ad- 
vanced in years were included in the party, 
selected for their integrity and wisdom. 

"Among this last number Barnard Capen figured 
conspicuously. Being sixty-eight years of age upon 
his arrival, he was unable to endure the severe hard- 
ships of a new-found country and died November 

131 



8, 1638. He was the first of the colonists to be 
placed in the Old Burying Ground now preserved 
at Upham's Corner. Not many years ago the 
stone which marked his> grave was found deeply 
buried in the earth. A new headstone was erected, 
on which the old inscription was carefully chiselled. 
The old stone, greatly defaced, is now in the pos- 
session of the Historical Society. 

"Many people believe Barnard Capen's grave 
the oldest recorded in the United States, with 
possibly one exception at Jamestown. 

" It is greatly to be regretted that no measure 
has been taken to preserve the Capen house, so 
important in the history, not only of Dorchester, 
but of New England. Unless some timely action 
is taken to liberate the building from its impend- 
ing fate, it will soon be but a memory." 



132 



Beach House, Dorchester 




Adams and East Streets 



133 



BEACH HOUSE 

Said to have been built about 1747, but there is 
more or less dispute about the date. As late as 
1834 Mrs. Saunders and Miss Beach still kept a 
young ladies' academy here. 

In March, 1809, the following advertisement 
appeared in the Columbia Sentinel : — 

"Education 

"Mrs. Saunders and Miss Beach continue to 
instruct young Ladies at their House, near the 
Rev. T. M. Harris' Meeting-House, in Dorchester. 

"Terms 

" Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, Letter Writing, 
Geography and the use of the Terrestrial and Ce- 
lestial Globes, French Language, Embroidery, 
Drawing and Painting, in oil, water colors, crayons, 
&c., tambour, plain, and ornamental Needle Work, 
drawing and coloring Maps and Mercator's Charts. 
"The whole or any of the above 

branches, per quarter 6 dolls. 

Board, per quarter 30 do. 

Washing, per dozen 50 cts. 

Use of Piano Forte, per month ... i doll. 

"The most eminent masters in Dancing and 
Music, regularly attend. 

134 



" From the unremitting attentions of Mrs. S. 
and Miss B. to the general improvement of their 
pupils, and the salubrity and pleasantness of 
their situation, they hope a continuance of the 
liberal patronage with which they have hitherto 
been favored. 

"Dorchester, March 29, 1809." 

The following is taken from the Boston Tran- 
script : — 

"The principals were described as wholly unlike. 
One, Mrs. Saunders, I think, was forceful and of 
much executive ability; she was generally feared 
in the school, for she saw everything and excused 
nothing, while Miss Beach, a woman of gentle 
nature, and gifted with imagination, was generally 
liked. 

"Music was taught by Air. G. Graupner and 
dancing by Mr. William Turner in 1809. 

"Only the daughters of merchants were eligible 
for admission to the school." 

Later this school was carried on by a Mr. Jenks 
and a Mr. Reed. 



13s 



Curtis House, Jamaica Plain 




Centre Street, near Boylston 



136 



Tablet, Curtis House 




137 



CURTIS HOUSE 

Opposite Boylston Street, on Centre, Is the old 
house of Samuel T., grandson of William Curtis, 
who bought it of Joshua Bowen in 171 2, with 
twenty acres of land, and built the present house 
in 1722. 

The Rhode Island troops were quartered here, 
also some from Connecticut, during the siege of 
Boston. 

The frame of the Curtis house is of unseasoned 
white oak, no doubt cut from the farm near by. 
No machine was in use at that time to cut nails, 
so all the iron work used in this house was made 
by hand. Originally the windows were composed 
of diamond-shaped glass and set in leaded sashes, 
but about 1800 these gave way to the present style 
of windows. Square blocks of oak, ten inches in 
diameter, served as steps in the cellar. 

Much of the old furniture handed down from 
generation to generation still remains in this 
house. 

One of its descendants, Philip Curtis, was the 
first market gardener in the vicinity of Boston. He 
raised vegetables and carried them in his cart to 
Boston, for sale. 



138 



The Oldest House in Jamaica Plain 




Boylston and Centre Streets 



139 



THE OLDEST HOUSE IN JAMAICA PLAIN 

In 1720 Timothy Palmer bought of John Rug- 
gles (who had Ruggles Street, in Roxbury, named 
for him), the house, barn, and three acres of land 
on what is now the easterly corner of Boylston 
and Centre Street. Timothy Palmer owned at 
that time a house and three acres of land on what 
is now the corner of Linden Park and Cabot 
Street, which in 1727 he sold to Samuel Gridley, 
of Pomfret, Conn. 

John Ruggles came over in the Hopewell in 1688, 
and kept a tavern not far from the old Norfolk 
House, in Eliot Square, Roxbury. He also com- 
manded a company of Roxbury soldiers in the 
Louisville expedition in 1745. 

At one time the Ruggles family played no small 
part in the life of Roxbury, but we are sorry to say 
that they are nearly or quite extinct at the present 
time. 



140 



Hallowell House, Jamaica Plain 




Centre and Boylston Streets 



141 



HALLOWELL HOUSE 

On the westerly corner of Centre and Boylston 
Street a quaint and picturesque dwelling stands, 
whose irregular lines strike the eye most agreeably. 
It was built in 1738, as the date on the chimney 
shows. 

In April, 1775, it was hastily vacated by its 
Loyalist owner, Captain Benjamin Hallowell, who 
sought refuge from his neighbors in Boston. 

It was used during the siege of Boston as a hospi- 
tal. Many soldiers, some of them British, were 
buried along what is now Boylston Street. 

After the siege the selectmen leased it to Jona- 
than Mason. 

This house and seven acres of land adjoining 
were confiscated by the State and bought by Dr. 
Louis Leprelet in 1791. After the death of Cap- 
tain Hallowell his son, Ward Nicholas Hallowell, 
claimed the estate through his mother, who mar- 
ried a Boylston, and in whose honor the street was 
named; and finally, in 1801, it was restored to the 
Hallowell family. 

Dr. Wing, who now owns this old place, has kept 
it in excellent repair. Several handsome butter- 
nut trees stand In front of the house, on Centre 
Street. 



142 



Greenough Mansion, Jamaica Plain 



i^M 11 








■'''-•. ■ -,' ,_V 



Centre and South Streets 



143 



GREENOUGH MANSION 

Opposite the Intersection of Centre and South 
Streets, back from the thoroughfare, stands the old 
Greenough mansion, a large, square, old-fashioned, 
roomy edifice, In which, at the time of the Revo- 
lution, lived the Tory, Commodore Joshua Lorlng. 

The house was framed In England and occupies 
the site of a building built by a Mr. Pemberton 
as long ago as when the Indians raided this Colony, 
and was used as a garrison house for the neighbor- 
hood. 

Lorlng bought the property In 1752 from John 
PoUey. In May, 1775, General Nathanael Greene 
occupied It for a short time as his headquarters. 
In June Captain Powers's company, from Wren- 
tham, were billeted here. Later In the year It was 
used as a hospital. 

After the siege, the selectmen rented It to Hon. 
William Phillips. 

Back of the house many American soldiers, who 
died of disease, were burled until their remains 
were removed to the cemetery, In 1867. 

The Act of Confiscation, in April, 1779, reads as 
follows : — 

"To confiscate the estate of the notorious con- 
spirator, Lorlng; large mansion house, outhouses, 

144 



garden plot, with fruit trees, and about sixty-five 
acres of mowing land." 

This was sold at the "Bunch of Grapes Tavern," 
on King Street, in June, to Colonel Isaac Sears. 
The Widow Anna Doane bought it of him ; and in 
1784 David S. Greenough married her, and it 
remains in the Greenough family up to the present 
time. 

Taken in connection with its surroundings, it is, 
in spite of its great age, hardly surpassed by any of 
its more modern neighbors. 



145 



MuNROE Tavern, Lexington 




Massachusetts Avenue 



146 



Tablet, Munroe Tavern 



-^^-S^'^ 



^ 



;' ^ T" BUILT IN 1695 *n 

Used AsHospiTAUvioRD Percy 



il^' 



147 



MUNROE TAVERN 

Built In 1695 by William Munroe. It was 
used as the headquarters, by Earl Percy, on the 
day "when the shot was fired that echoed around 
the world." 

Washington dined here in November, 1789, 
when on his last journey through New England, 
and an armchair used by him, in which he sat at 
that banquet, is still preserved in the old barroom 
of this ancient tavern. It has been kept by the 
Munroe family as a memento of the Revolution. 

The marks of bullet holes can be seen on the 
inside of the old tap room, where, after John Ray- 
mond had served Percy's "lobsters" with liquor, 
he demanded payment for the refreshments, and 
was shot and killed by them, as the quickest way 
to settle the score. 

The soldiers attempted to set fire to the old 
building, but it was extinguished with but little 
damage. 

We are told that Earl Percy not only allowed, 
but encouraged, his troops to loot and pillage the 
place to their heart's content. 

For several years a portion of the house was 
used as a Masonic lodge room, and here the cele- 
brated "Hiram Lodge" was instituted December 
12, 1797. 

148 



The following, taken from the Transcript of 
a recent date, is interesting : — 

"Munroe Tavern, bequeathed to the Lexington 
Historical Society by the will of the late James S. 
Munroe, is now the accepted property of that 
organization. A meeting was held and favorable 
action talcen by the members, regarding this 
famous building, in accordance with the terms of 
the will. 

"A committee of five had been appointed to 
consider this bequest, which, in case this Society 
declined the gift, was to be offered, first, to the 
town and then to the State, 'believing,' so the 
will reads, 'that these landmarks in our country's 
history, which have become identified as monu- 
ments of great social and political events, ought 
to be preserved to posterity, not alone for their 
intrinsic interest but more especially for their 
power in bringing to the minds and hearts of their 
posterity a realization of the courage, self-sacrifice, 
and loyal devotion of our forefathers.' " 



149 



Tablet, Lexington 




Massachusetts Avenue and Bloomfield Streets 



150 



TABLET 

About where this tablet stands Colonel Percy's 
troops met Colonel Smith's broken fragments of 
the "redcoats" in the midst of their disastrous 
retreat from Concord , and by their excellent dis- 
cipline, and aided by the fact that they had not been, 
up to that time, greatly annoyed by the minute- 
men, felt sure that the retreat could be stayed ; but 
soon they found out differently, and were glad 
enough to take the back track towards Boston. 

"Had It not been for Percy's troops, not a 'red- 
coat' would have reached Charlestown alive." 

General Warren wrote this a few days after the 
battle. 



iSi 



Tablet, Lexington 




Church Green 



152 



CHURCH GREEN 

The early history of Lexington is involved in 
that of Cambridge. The Hon. Charles Hudson, 
historian of the town, says that no reliable records 
of the first settlers can be found, but Herbert Pel- 
ham and John Bridge were the first to take up 
homesteads in this section, about 1642. 

In 1650 Robert Herlarkenden built a house some- 
where near the "Green." Among the early in- 
habitants who were prominent were the names 
Munroe, Tidd, Bowman, Reid, Wellington, and 
Merriam. In 17 13 the towns incorporated under 
the name of "Lexington." It was named for Lord 
Lexington, that name being suggested by Governor 
Joseph Dudley. 

In those days it was as unnatural for a typical 
New Englander to live without an able ministry, 
as for a blacksmith to work his iron without a fire. 

About 17 1 3 a meeting-house was built here. 
The house having no steeple, a belfry was built 
near by, and the bell, a present from the town of 
Cambridge, was hung in it. 

In 1761 Isaac Stone gave a large, new bell and it 
was the prolonged ringing of this bell, on the morn- 
ing of April 19, 1775, that raised the minute-men 
on that eventful day. 

153 



Two other churches, since the destruction of the 
first one, have stood on this spot. 

Benjamin Estabrook was the first minister, at a 
salary of forty pounds a year. 

In 1698 John Hancock was installed, and con- 
tinued as the minister for fifty-five years. In 1755 
Rev. Jonas Clark, who married a granddaughter of 
the former pastor, was settled here. Rev. Charles 
Briggs, Rev. William C. Swett, and many other 
noted ministers have officiated here. 



154 



LEXINGTON COMMON 

"A committee was chosen at a public meeting in 
1707 to treat with 'Nibour Muzzy' about the pur- 
chase of a piece of land lying north of the meeting 
house. Four years later, negotiations were com- 
pleted, and in consideration of sixteen pounds 'Ni- 
bour Muzzy' deeded to the inhabitants of Cam- 
bridge Farms a certain parcel of land estimated to 
contain one and one-half acres. In 1722, the town 
enlarged the Common by the purchase of an addi- 
tional acre at a cost of twenty-five pounds. This 
was the origin of Lexington Common, the birth- 
place of American liberty." 



15s 



The Minute-Man, Lexington 




On the Green near Massachusetts Avenue 



156 



THE MINUTE-MAN 

The Hayes "Memorial Statue of Captain John 
Parker" is said to be one of the finest productions 
of the famous sculptor, Henry H. Kitson. 

The base is of field stone, and the statue, which is 
of bronze, represents Captain Parker as he ap- 
peared on the day of the battle, when he com- 
manded the sixty or seventy Minute-men, who had 
hastily gathered on the "Green" at the sound of 
the bell. He is standing, gun in hand, sturdily 
waiting the onslaught of the foe. 

This monument was dedicated in 1900, and was 
the gift of the late Frances B. Hayes. 

"At the time of the opening of the Revolution, 
Captain John Parker was living at the old home- 
stead, located in the southwest part of the town, 
and which has been in the Parker family since 17 10. 
He was succeeded in the ownership of the farm by 
his son, John, and here in 18 10 his grandson, Theo- 
dore Parker, was born. 

"The fact that Captain Parker was selected to 
command the minute-men is evidence that he was 
a man of more than average character. His firm- 
ness and coolness on that trying occasion when he 
faced the foe with an injunction from his superiors, 
'not to allow his men to fire unless fired upon,' is 
worthy of the highest praise. It was a responsibil- 

157 



hy few men would have cared to assume in moments 
which must have been fraught with the most in- 
tense excitement. Says Ripley, in his history 
of the iight at Concord, 'The military company 
under Captain Parker were prompt, patriotic, 
and courageous to admiration. That a single 
company should parade in an opposing attitude, 
directly in the face of nearly a thousand of the 
picked troops of Great Britain, places their courage 
and firmness beyond all controversy.' Upon the 
return of the enemy from Concord, Captain Parker 
met them with his company, and poured a deadly 
fire into their ranks. On the 6th of May he re- 
paired with a detachment of forty-five of his 
command to the headquarters of the army, to assist 
in the prevention of any further incursion of the 
king's troops into the country. And on the occa- 
sion of the memorable battle of Bunker Hill, he 
marched with sixty-one of his company to Cam- 
bridge, where they were stationed to prevent the 
British crossing the Charles River. 

" He did not live to witness the termination of a 
struggle in the opening chapters of which he was one 
of the foremost actors. He died September 17, 
1775, aged forty-six years. His grave may be seen 
in The Old Cemetery." 

Captain Parker commanded his company "not 
to fire unless fired upon." The British approached 
on both sides of the meeting-house following the 

158 



lead of Major Pitcairn, who ordered the Minute- 
men to disperse. As they did not disperse, he re- 
peated the order with added emphasis, and fired his 
pistol at them. Each side claimed that the other 
fired first ; but it seems conclusive that the first 
shot came from the British, who fired two volleys, 
the second with fatal effect. The Minute-men 
returned a few shots from the position they had 
taken, and dispersed, continuing the fire as best 
they could from their places of retreat. Relative 
to one of the Minute-men, Edward Everett wrote 
in 1835: 

"Roman history does not furnish an example of 
bravery that outshines that of Jonas Parker. A 
truer heart did not bleed at Thermopylae. Parker 
was often heard to say, 'that be the consequences 
what they might, and let others do what they 
pleased, he would never run from the enemy." He 
was as good as his word — better. Having loaded 
his musket, he placed his hat, containing his ammu- 
nition, on the ground between his feet in readiness 
for a second charge. At the second fire he was 
wounded and sank upon his knees ; and in this 
condition, discharged his gun. While loading it 
again, upon his knees, and striving in the agonies 
of death to redeem his pledge, he was transfixed 
by a bayonet; — and thus died on the spot where 
he first stood and fell." 



159 



Boulder on the Green, Lexington 



■ ^^-^^ 


•% ."* 


■WI^MI 




.^:f£-ii^ 


'■'Mm 








mm 

J 




Im, 


4 


^^Pl 




1 


d 



"The Line of Battle," April 19, 1776 



160 



BOULDER 

Line of Battle 

"The words of Captain Parker are found in a 
letter by his grandson, Tlieodore Parker, to George 
Bancroft, as a tradition in the Parker family. It 
was confirmed by Colonel Wm. Munroe, orderly 
sergeant of Captain Parker's company." 

"On the battlefield, about ten rods from the 
Meeting-house Monument, has been placed a large 
boulder to mark the line of the Minute-men, that 
Spartan band, who stood firmly at their post on the 
19th of April, 1775, when the impetuous Pitcairn, 
cursing the 'rebels,' ordered them to 'disperse.' 

'"No muscle moved, but every ear was tense' 
to hear the word which Captain Parker had been 
commanded not to give 'until fired upon.' Is it a 
wonder, under the circumstances, that some of 
the men should seem to falter .? That the firm 
voice of the leader had to admonish them, that he 
would have the first man shot down, who should 
quit the ranks or leave his post without orders ^ 
Thus they stood, bravely, obediently, within sight 
of their homes, and permitted themselves to be 
shot down by the enemy's merciless muskets. 
When the order was given by Captain Parker for 
them to disperse, seven of the Minute men had been 

M 161 



slain, and the British were coming upon them in 
front and from both sides of the meeting-house. 

"This huge boulder well symbolizes the spirit of 
the men whose deeds it has been placed here to 
commemorate. It is estimated to weigh from 
twelve to fifteen tons. On its face is carved an old 
musket with a powder-horn thrown over it, point- 
ing in the direction of the line of battle. Beneath 
are inscribed the words of Captain Parker to his 
men : ' Stand your ground ; don't fire unless fired 
upon ; but if they mean to have a war, let it begin 
here.' " 



162 



BucKMAN Tavern, Lexington 




Bedford Street, near the Green 



163 



Tablet, Buckman Tavern, Lexington 




164 



BUCKMAN TAVERN 

As you approach the Common from the south- 
east, on your right, three or four rods from the 
street, a large and commanding dwelling-house, 
whose general appearance and style of architec- 
ture betokens age, meets your eye. It Is the old 
Buckman Tavern of the Revolution, built In 1692 
by Benjamin Muzzey. 

Here, many of Captain Parker's men congregated 
on the evening of the i8th of April, 1775, and 
here some of the wounded British soldiers were 
conveyed on the afternoon of the following day. 
To this house a few Minute-men fled when driven 
from the Common, and here they returned the 
British fire, a recognition of which by the foe Is at- 
tested by the bullet marks in the old clapboards, 
still visible on the house. 

It was long used as a tavern and here the first 
store In town was opened. The first post office 
was also here In 1812. 

John Buckman owned this house and was the 
landlord of the tavern'at the time of the fight on 
the "Green." He was also a member of the militia 
who fought In front of his house. 

It Is still In a good state of preservation and 
likely to stand for many years as one of the monu- 
ments of the battle of Lexington. 

165 



Tablet, Hancock-Clarke House 




BUILT 


1698 




enlarged 1 


71,\ 






RESIDENCE OF 










Rev. 


John Hancock 


55 


YEARS 








ANn OF HIS SUCCESSOR 








Rev. 


Jonas Clarke 


50 


YEARS 




HERE Samuel Adams and 


John 


Hancock 1 




were 


SLEEPING when 


AROUSED BY 






Paul 


Revere April 


19 


1775 





166 



Hancock-Clarke House, Lexington 




Hancock Street, near the Green 



167 



HANCOCK-CLARKE HOUSE 

A PART of this house was erected by the Rev. 
John Hancock, who married EHzabeth Clarke, of 
Chehiisford, after he was settled over the church 
here, probably about 1698, 

Some thirty or forty years later, his son, Thomas 
Hancock, who was one of the most successful mer- 
chants at that time In Boston, enlarged the house 
by adding the present front next to the street. 
Here the Rev. John resided until his death. In 
1752. Here his grandson, John, the first signer 
of the Declaration of Independence, lived for many 
years in his boyhood. 

Rev. Jonas Clarke succeeded as pastor of the 
church about 1755, and married Lucy Bowes, a 
granddaughter of Rev. Mr. Hancock. Here he 
lived until the time of his death, in 1705. 

The two clergymen thus completed a ministry 
of one hundred and five years, and no less than 
twenty-five clergymen may be numbered among 
the descendants of Hancock and Clarke. 

By this marriage Mr. Clarke became a cousin to 
young John Hancock, whom he had met at Har- 
vard College. 

In this house Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and 
Dr. Warren of Roxbury often met and conferred 
together regarding the future of this country. Here 

168 



Adams and Hancock spent some time after Gov- 
ernor Gage had set a price upon their heads, and 
here they lodged the night of the i8th of April, 
when the first news of the advance of the British 
had been brought them by Paul Revere, 

The beautiful Dorothy Quincy, John Hancock's 
fiancee, to whom he was married the following 
August, was also a frequent visitor in the old house. 

Mr. Adams and Mr. Hancock left the house just 
before the arrival of troops in the village. 

The house is still standing, just as it was at the 
time of this famous battle, and is now used as a 
museum of Revolutionary relics. The house for- 
merly stood facing the "Green," but was moved 
to its present location in 1896. 



169 



Stone Cannon, Lexington 




In Front of the High School, Massachusetts Avenue, 
near Woburn Street 



170 



STONE CANNON 

On the tablet between the wheels is the follow- 
ing : — 

"Near this spot Earl Percy, with reenforce- 
ments, planted a field-piece to cover the retreat of 
the British troops, x\pril 19, 1775." 

This cannon is said to be an exact reproduction 
of the iron one used on the day of the battle. 

" It was two o'clock in the afternoon when the 
British fugitives were met by Earl Percy. One of 
his field-pieces was planted near the site of the old 
town hall, which was later used as a high school, 
and the other upon the high ground above the 
Munroe Tavern. Here, with his guns trained upon 
the Americans, wherever they could be discovered, 
he held them in check for a brief time. One of the 
shots passed through the meeting-house and out at 
the pulpit window, burying itself in the ground, on 
the back part of the Common. The cannon from 
which this shot was fired is supposed to have been 
on the high ground where the high school building 
stands. 

"The ball was preserved for some time, when it 
was transmitted to Harvard College, and by some 
neglect was allowed to disappear." 



171 



The Wigglesworth Parsonage, Malden 




145 Alain Street 



172 



THE WIGGLESWORTH PARSONAGE 

On the 28th of August, 1640, Abraham Palmer 
and Robert Hale were appointed to lay out the 
two hundred acres of land on "Mystick Side." 
The most northerly lot was of twenty acres and was 
allotted to John Allen, who sold it to John Lewis in 
1657. It then passed into the Green family. Rev. 
Michael Wigglesworth bought the land on which 
the old house stands, on Main Street, from John 
Allen, in 1657, and paid thirteen pounds for six and 
one half acres. 

Soon after this he built a house a short distance 
from the one now standing, which was destroyed 
by fire in July, 1724. At that time the old house 
was occupied by the Rev. Joseph Emerson, who 
succeeded Mr. Wigglesworth as pastor of the First 
Church in Maiden. He was married in December, 
1721, and had only occupied the house a short time 
when it was burnt. 

In August the town voted to rebuild the parson- 
age, and it was finished some time in 1733. 

Here Adoniram Judson was born while his father 
was pastor of the church to which the house be- 
longed. 

In 1845 it was sold to George W. Wilson, whose 
daughter, Miss Maria P. Wilson, is now the owner. 

173 



The house is still in an excellent state of preser- 
vation, and although surrounded by apartment 
houses that hide its beauty, is still an attractive and 
pleasant old place. 



174 



Joseph Perkins House, Malden 




Appleton Street 



175 



PERKINS HOUSE 

On what was then known as Green Hill, James 
Green built a house in 1649, and the present house 
was partially built with timber taken from the old 
house. 

Captain Green died in February, 1761, and his 
son, James, succeeded him, who sold this place to 
his own son, David, and he in turn transferred it to 
Joseph Perkins, of Danvers, who bought it in 1769 
and built the present house about that time. 

In 1772 he was chosen a deacon and died in 1793. 
He had served as a town clerk and selectman the 
latter part of his life. His son, Jacob, succeeded to 
his estate and he was the father of the late Daniel 
A. Perkins. 

On March 28, 1686, a council was held in the old 
house to try Mr. McCheever for some irregular 
things he had said or done. Increase Mather was 
the moderator, and as the council of fifteen mem- 
bers of the Maiden Church and five ministers from 
Boston could not agree, so "They left the whole 
matter in the hands of the Lord as an easy way 
out of it." 

In the cellar of the house at one time was a large 
oak log, a little larger and taller than a barrel, and 
scooped out like a mortar, with a wide iron hoop 

176 



around the top. In this the corn was pounded 
and ground. 

Certainly, the fact that Increase Mather pre- 
sided at a council held in this old house should tend 
to make of it a great and lasting monument to the 
witchcraft delusion of the old days. The house 
stands as sturdy and sound to-day as if it had been 
built but fifty years instead of one hundred and 
fifty. 



177 



Sprague House, Malden 




Formerly stood on Salem Street, near Sprague 
Demolished in 1905 



178 



SPRAGUE HOUSE 

This was built by Joseph Hills previous to 1681, 
as at that time he sold it, with sixty acres of land, 
to Thomas Newhall, of Lynn. 

It was used as a tavern for many years by James 
Kettell and Robert Foster, and about 1788 was 
purchased by Dr. John Sprague. He died in Oc- 
tober, 1803. 

He left the reputation of being a rough, but 
honest, man. It is said that he always told his 
patients whether he could cure them or not. He 
studied with Dr. Simon Tufts of Medford. At one 
time he taught school. It is said of him that he 
beat the rudiments into his pupils with a fervent 
zeal, believing in the efBcacy of Solomon's way of 
teaching. 

He was a member of Captain Blaney's Company 
at Point Shirley, in June, 1776, and was taken 
prisoner in 1777. 

There is a legend connected with this house 
that is quite interesting. It was told me by a 
doctor who still resides in Maiden. It is as fol- 
lows : — 

Some thirty years ago the story was told by the 
then owner of the house, that whoever owned the 
house when it was demolished would die within 
six months. Something of this kind really did 

179 



happen, for the owner of the old house, who had 
been quite sick, and who had begun to convalesce, 
one day was entertained by a visitor with the story 
of the legend. Inasmuch as the house had been 
pulled down some few weeks previously, the sick 
man was quite troubled by the story, and steadily 
grew worse from that day, dying shortly after. 



1 80 



Fort Sewall, Marblehead 




Under the Guns of this Fort the Ship Constitution 
took refuge from two British Men-of-war, during 
the War of 1812 



I«I 



Fort Sewall 




Interior 



182 



\ 



FORT SEWALL 

This fort is situated on the extreme point of land 
on which Marblehead is built. There was an earth- 
work erected here soon after the settlement of 
Salem. Marblehead was settled before either 
Boston or Salem, and there has always been some 
kind of a fort here since 1634. 

The present redoubt dates from the Revolu- 
tionary War, when it was garrisoned by Colonel 
Glover's famous "Essex" Regiment in 1775-1776. 

April 3, 1 8 14, the ship Constitution, better known 
as Old Ironsides, after being chased for three days 
by the British frigates Teriedo and Endymion, took 
refuge under the guns of this fort, from whence 
the British were unable to take her. 

In 1861, when theWar of the Rebellion broke out, 
this fort was in ruins, but the town of Marblehead 
appropriated four thousand dollars to place it in 
good repair, in addition to the money the United 
States Government also spent here. 

During 1861-1865 the fort was garrisoned at 
different times by soldiers from all the Northern 
States. On May 27, 1892, Marblehead voted to 
accept the custody of the fort as a public park, 
the use of which had been tendered it by the 
United States Government. 

183 



During the war with Spain parts of the Fifth and 
Eighth Regiments of the Massachusetts Militia 
garrisoned the fort. 

It is quite in line to here speak of the following 
facts. 

Marblehead was the first town to form a regi- 
ment in 1775. During the War of 18 12 one fifth 
of her population of six thousand people served 
either in the army or navy of the United States. 
In 1 86 1 the Marblehead company of the Sixth 
Massachusetts Regiment was the first to report at 
the State House, in Boston, after President Lin- 
coln's call for seventy-five thousand volunteers. 

This fort was named after Chief Justice Stephen 
Sewall, son of Major Stephen Sewall of Newbury. 



184 



MuGFORD Monument, Marblehead 




Pleasant Street 



185 



MUGFORD MONUMENT 

On May 17, 1876, the looth anniversary of the 
capture of the British transport Hope this monu- 
ment was unveiled to the eyes of the public. It 
is of Quincy granite, eighteen feet high and four 
and one half feet square at the base. On the north 
side is this inscription : — 

"A tribute of Marblehead to the memory of the 
brave Captain Mugford and his heroic crew, who, 
in the Franklin, of sixty tons and four four-pound 
guns, May 17, 1776, under the guns of the whole 
British fleet, captured and carried into Boston the 
transport Hope, which had three hundred tons and 
ten guns, loaded with munitions of war, includ- 
ing fifteen hundred barrels of powder." 

On the east side : — - 

"Crew of the Franklin as far as known : — 

James Mugford, Captain. 

Thomas Russell, Lieutenant. 

Jeremiah Hibbard, Lieutena?it. 

William Thomas, Gunner. 

Samuel H. Green, Quartermaster. 

James Topham, Carpenter. 

John Powers, Boatswain, 
186 



Seamen 

John Dove, Samuel RofF, 

Thomas Dove, James Quilty, 

John Witham, Quinn Battis." 

On the west side : — 

"Captain James Mugford, born In Marblehead 
May 19, 1749, killed May 19, 1776, while success- 
fully defending his vessel against thirteen boats 
and two hundred men from the British fleet." 

On the south side : — 
"Erected May 17, 1876." 



187 



MuGFORD House, Marblehead 




Mugford Street, near Pleasant 



i88 



MUGFORD HOUSE 

This is the house to which Captain Mugford 
brought his bride and began housekeeping soon 
after they were married, and here they were living 
when his duty called him away to command the 
Franklin, and from that post of honor he never 
returned to his family alive. 



189 



Crista House, Marblehead 




Mugford Street 



190 



CRISTA HOUSE 

This Is the house to which Captain James Mug- 
ford's remains were brought after his death in May, 
1776, at Pullen Point, now Point Shirley, Winthrop, 
Mass., while defending his little vessel, the Frank- 
lin, against almost overwhelming odds. 

Owned by his father-in-law, John Crista. From 
this house he was burled, and It has always re- 
mained, up to the present time, In the possession of 
Mugford's relations. 



191 



Old Powder House, Marblehead 





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Green Street 



192 



MARBLEHEAD POWDER HOUSE 

"Built in 1755, and one of Marblehead's land- 
marks, Is the powder house, a circular brick maga- 
zine situated on the old Ferry Road, or what is now 
known as Green St. 

"The building was erected by the town In 1755, 
at the outbreak of the French and Indian wars, for 
the storage of ammunition. It was used for the 
storage of powder during the Revolutionary War 
and the War of 181 2, and later was let to private 
parties for a powder magazine. 

"The committee appointed to build the maga- 
zine comprised Colonel Jacob Fowle, Colonel 
Jeremiah Lee, and Major Richard Reed. 

"A few years ago the town repaired the building, 
which had begun to fall into decay." 



193 



St. Michael's Church, Marblehead 




Pleasant Street, near Washington Street 



194 



St. Michael's Church 




Side 



195 



ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH 

This is the oldest Episcopal church in New Eng- 
land, built in 1714. Rev. David Mossom was the 
rector in 1718-1725, when he resigned and went 
to New Kent, Va. 

He afterwards married George Washington to 
the Widow Custis. 

General Francis Nicholson was foremost in the 
building of this church, heading the subscription list 
with two hundred and fifty pounds. In July, 1725, 
Rev. William Shaw arived as the first official rector, 
being sent by the Bishop of London, England. He 
was in charge up to 1730 and as many as seventy 
or eighty families worshipped here ; but as the 
popular feeling of discontent against King George 
increased, the number of worshippers diminished, 
and shortly before the battle of Lexington, public 
sentiment was so strong, that the church was 
closed because the rector persisted in offering 
prayers for the "good King George of England." 

When the news of the Declaration of Indepen- 
dence was received, the joy of the people knew no 
bounds, and in the height of the excitement the 
mob broke into the church and pulled down a coat 
of arms of King George and took it out in front 
of the town hall and publicly burnt it. 

196 



The bell of the church was cracked at this time 
by the zeal of the new sexton, a returned soldier of 
General Glover's regiment, who was determined 
that the "Tory bell," as the fishermen called it, 
should be rung in a good cause. 

During the great fire of June 25, 1877, the roof 
caught fire several times, and it was feared that the 
building was doomed to destruction ; but a young 
man, named Thomas Gorman, at the risk of his 
life succeeded in climbing upon the roof and 
extinguishing the flames. 

The frame and all the materials in the church 
were brought from England. 



197 



Old Doak House, Marblehead 




Recently Destroyed 



198 



OLD DOAK HOUSE 

This house was built previous to 1700, as Benja- 
min Doak, Sr., was born here and he did not marry 
until he was over sixty years old. His son, Benjamin 
Doak, Jr., was also born here. He was a private 
in Captain John Selman's Company and marched 
to Cambridge to join the Continental army, in 
1775, and there embarked with his commander on 
an expedition by sea to the Isle of St. John, New- 
foundland. 

He returned to Marblehead in 1776; was a sol- 
dier in Fort Sewall, under Captain Fettyplace, dur- 
ing the remainder of the war for independence. 

Benjamin Doak, Jr., was also, at one time, a 
member of Company Four, of Colonel Glover's 
Marblehead regiment, but owing to an old wound 
troubling him remained at the fort. 

His son, John Doak, served on board several 
Marblehead vessels during the War of 1812, and 
his share of prize money from the captured vessels 
is said to have been more than one thousand 
pounds. 

Michael J. Doak, at one time a large shoe manu- 
facturer, was a great-grandson of Benjamin Doak, 
Jr., and he was instrumental in organizing the 
Marblehead Savings Bank in 1871. 

199 



His son, John Doak, served in the Eighth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment during the war of the Rebellion, 
1861-1865, and Michael's grandson, Robert Doak, 
served with the Fifth Massachusetts Regiment 
during the Spanish war. 



200 



Moll Pitcher House, Marblehead 




20 1 



THE MOLL PITCHER HOUSE 

Called the "Old Brig." 

Mary Diamond, who married Robert Pitcher, 
the famous fortune-teller of Lynn, was born In this 
house In 1738. Its exact age is not known, but it 
seems likely to have been built previous to 1700. 

It was owned in 1704 by "Old Diamond," as he 
was called, who was looked upon by the fishermen 
as a seer and a prophet, and many a fine mess of 
fish, and oftentimes a Spanish dollar, were given 
to the "old wizard," as the more enlightened of his 
townspeople called him, if he would only read the 
signs right, and promise a quick, safe voyage and a 
good market to the fishermen. 

Many weird stories are told of his powers to 
foretell events, and I am told, by men still living, 
who had it from their own fathers, "that no fisher- 
man ever left Marblehead Harbor, that he had 
foretold would never return, but what was lost." 

On the other hand, he often directed fishing-ves- 
sels where to land their cargoes, that they might 
get more than they would if brought back to Mar- 
blehead ; and on the whole, he must have been a 
keen, bright man to have made the reputation he 
did. 

The second sight must have run in the family, for 
202 



his daughter not only married a fortune-teller, but 
also became a celebrated one herself. 

Moll is said to have told, the day before the battle 
of Lexington, that "the redcoats were out for blood 
and that many would soon be killed in Charles- 
town, Metonemy, and Lexington," a thing that 
did happen strictly as she had stated. 

At another time she told General Nichols "that 
if the colonies could only get France to aid them, 
all would be well, and that a young Frenchman 
was coming to this country, who would have the 
principal street in Salem named after him," both 
of which predictions came true. 



203 



Colonel Jeremiah Lee's House, Marblehead 




Washington Street, near Pleasant 



204 



COLONEL LEE'S HOUSE 

The famous Lee house, at Marblehead, re- 
cently purchased by the Marblehead Historical 
Society, has been restored to its oldtime aspect. 

The great hallway, five yards in width, has been 
thoroughly renovated, and the room opening at 
the left, which was occupied for one hundred and 
five years by the Marblehead National Bank, has 
been partly reconstructed. 

Colonel Lee was a man prominent in the affairs 
of Marblehead in the latter part of the eighteenth 
century, and the fine old residence, which is to-day 
the object of so much interest, was built by him in 
1768. It stands on the north side of Washington 
Street, in Bank Square, but a short distance from 
old St. Michael's Church. At the time of its 
erection it was one of the finest and most expen- 
sively furnished homes in the Colonies. It was 
designed by English architects, and cost more than 
£10,000. It was stated in the Boston papers at 
that time that this was "the most elegant and 
costly furnished home in the ' Bay State Colony.' " 

The timber and finish used in its construction 
were brought from England as ballast in the Colo- 
nel's own ship. 

It is an excellent specimen of the severely square 
colonial type of dwelling, placed well to the front 

205 



of the lot, with scarcely any yard space separating 
it from the sidewalk. The handsome porch, sup- 
ported by finely carved pillars, is approached by a 
flight of stone steps. The broad entrance door, 
with its brass latch and oldtime knob, swings 
easily upon its great hinges into the spacious 
hallway, that extends the entire length of the 
house, and is panelled throughout in black wal- 
nut. 

Great care as to detail has been exercised in the 
finish of this apartment, and the handsome doors 
that open on either side into adjoining rooms are 
enclosed within moldings of the classic egg and 
tongue pattern, carved by hand. To the right of 
the centre, a great staircase, sufficiently wide for 
several persons to walk abreast, ascends by broad, 
low treads to a square landing, from which a 
shorter flight of steps leads to the upper hallway. 
A great arched window, inserted at the landing, 
is flanked by several pilasters that seem to sup- 
port the high ceiling, that is encircled with a 
heavily dentated cornice. 

The feature of the hallway is the wall paper, 
which represents scenes of ruined Greece, such as 
shattered columns, temples, landscapes, heraldic 
devices, and coats of mail, each set in a separate 
panel, handsomely carved. It was painted in 
England by special order, and on one of the 
panels, recently removed, was the address "Broad 

206 



St., London." It is finished in soft tones of gray, 
beautifully blended, and no doubt it represents the 
highest development of early decorative art. 

In the other rooms, the scenes depicted are 
mostly European, such as castles set in the midst 
of lawns and shrubbery, sailboats on rivers, and 
peasants reclining on river banks, etc., all finished 
in the same beautifully blended gray, and all 
retaining much of their original beauty. 

When the house was first built, scriptural texts 
and tablets, adorned with biblical scenes, were 
arranged on the wall spaces above many of the 
mantels, and tradition relates that one of these 
tablets, depicting the scene of " Susannah and the 
Elders," was appropriated by a kleptomaniac 
visitor, and by some occult process was conveyed 
to Independence Hall, at Philadelphia, where it 
may now be found. 

To the left of the hallway is the reception room, 
with its lofty wainscot and richly carved mantel, 
and just opposite is the great dining-room, charac- 
terized by a huge open fireplace. Across the paved 
courtyard, in direct line of vision from one of the 
windows in this apartment, formerly stood the old 
slave quarters, and close beside it is the site of the 
cook house, now but a memory. 

In the great room upstairs, just over the apart- 
ment occupied for so many years by the Marble- 
head National Bank, Lafayette trod the measures 

207 



of the stately minuet with one of the town's fair 
belles, when he came to Boston to assist at the 
laying of the cornerstone of Bunker Hill Monu- 
ment; and here, too, in 1789, came Washington, 
during his tour through the country, especially to 
see Madam Lee and the surviving members of 
"Glover's old regiment." Later distinguished 
guests were Presidents Monroe and J:^ckson, both 
of whom were entertained by the townspeople; so 
it is little wonder that the old house is held in such 
high esteem. 

Then, too, it has another claim upon public 
consideration, for it sheltered one of the most 
ardent patriots which the Revolution developed. 
Always prominent in town affairs, Colonel Lee 
served on many important committees, being one 
of the "board of firewards" of the first fire depart- 
ment of the town, and also one of the building 
committee which had charge of the construction of 
the powder house, erected in 1755, and still stand- 
ing. He was prominent in all movements which 
tended toward the independence of the Colonies ; 
and had not death cut short his career before the 
struggle had fairly commenced, would undoubtedly 
have been as well known to posterity as his inti- 
mate friend and fellow-townsman, Elbridge Gerry. 

He was a member of the province committee of 
safety and supplies, which lield a meeting on April 
18, 1775, at Weatherby's Black Horse Tavern, 

208 



situated on the highway between Cambridge and 
Lexington, and was one of the members who, 
after the meeting, decided to spend the night at 
the Tavern rather than proceed to Lexington. 
Towards evening some British soldiers were noticed 
passing up the road ; but as no immediate trouble 
was anticipated, their presence excited no great 
anxiety. In the early morning, however, the ad- 
vance guards of the British troops were sighted, 
and then the Colonel and his friends, scenting 
danger, hastily dressed and escaped by a rear door. 
It is also interesting to know that the first Mrs. 
Theodore Roosevelt was a Miss Lee of Brookline, 
Mass., and a direct descendant from this branch 
of the Lee family. 

In a score of ways the house lends itself to the 
peculiar use of a museum to-day. Within the 
past year the old captains of the little port have 
climbed to its gray cupola to make out approaching 
vessels with the glass. The building, like most 
Marblehead houses, stands, so to say, in its use, 
with one foot on land and the other in the water. 
It partakes equally of the life of the town and the 
maritime side of the community. Its timbers, 
Its rooms, the cunning of its plan, all speak of the 
presage of those troublous times In the years just 
before the Revolution. A small cupboard door, 
access, apparently, to a clothes press, opens on a 
narrow secret stair, leading to the bedchamber 
p 209 



above. A smaller panel (which many a painter 
had crossed with his brush, not suspecting it to be 
anything but a part of the decorative scheme of 
the chimney-piece) sounded hollow one day to a 
chance thump ; swung out, at a pry, on a pair of 
hinges, and revealed an iron safe, double-doored, 
buried in the brickwork of the chimney. On an 
upper floor are the marks of sliding panels to mask 
a garret retreat against false walls. The panels are 
gone, but the purpose may still be seen. When 
the restorations of the place began, an old resi- 
dent of Marblehead remarked to the Historical 
Society, "Why don't you dig up the date .^" 
Cross-examined, he explained that the date was 
under the sods of the east yard. A forenoon with 
hoe and shovel uncovered a pavement of brown 
cobble-stones at the base of the granite side steps, 
containing " 1768" outlined in white stones among 
the brown. 

The kitchen fireplace was another rediscovery. 
As the house came to the Society, the fireplace was 
a practicable, but shallow affair, shoulder-high, 
wagon-wide ; yet not of the generous depth re- 
puted of old houses. Controversy possessed the 
Society : to exhume or not to exhume ? Finally, 
the proceeding was strongly urged, put to a vote, 
and the forenoon's work of a mason exposed two 
feet more of the recess, and behind the deep ovens, 
that had hardly cooked since Massachusetts Bay 

210 



was a Royal Colony. The upper casements of the 
house, those in the rooms which have not been 
much used, are built to raise and lower on lead 
weights ; but the weights are wanting. The story 
runs that they went the way of the rest of New 
England lead in the early days of the Revolution ; 
and doubtless the window weights of the Lee 
mansion, like the statue of George III, hauled 
down in New York, are buried in the old trees of 
the battlefields of '78 and '79. 



211 



Gerry House, Marblehead 




Washington Street 



212 



GERRY HOUSE 

Nearly opposite the North Church is the old 
homestead of Captain Thomas Gerry, one of the 
most eminent merchants of the town in the olden 
time. In this house his distinguished son, El- 
bridge Gerry, was born, who was afterwards sent 
to the Continental Congress and later became 
Vice-President of the new United States. 

In later years it became the property of Captain 
William Blackler, a veteran of the Revolution. He 
was a captain in Glover's regiment, and it was the 
proudest boast of his life that he was in command of 
the boat in which General Washington crossed the 
Delaware, on the night before the battle of Trenton. 

In the roster of Glover's regiment, Blackler 
appears as captain of Company 2. Nothing in 
history refutes his claim of having been Wash- 
ington's ferryman. 



213 



John Hooper House, Marblehead 




Washington Square 



214 



JOHN HOOPER HOUSE 

This is now occupied by tlie National Grand 
Bank. Built by John Hooper, one of the wealthi- 
est of the merchants of Marblehead, in 1762. He 
was for many years president of the Grand Bank, 
when it was a state institution. It was one of the 
oldest banks in America, and said to be the first 
chartered bank in Massachusetts, its charter 
bearing date of March 7, 1804. 

His connection with this bank, in the earlier 
years of its existence, did much to establish its 
reputation as one of the most solid and reliable in 
the State. 

After his death his house came into the hands of 
Samuel Sewall. From him the bank directors 
purchased it for five thousand dollars. 

Many peculiar stories are still current regarding 
the manner in which loans were made by Mr. 
Hooper, who at one time, during the war of the 
Revolution, was not only president, cashier, teller, 
bookkeeper, messenger, but also janitor, all of 
the other employees having gone with Colonel 
Glover's regiment to take part in the Siege of 
Boston. 

No sea captain who had ever had the misfor- 
tune to wreck a vessel he was in command of 
could ever obtain a loan from Mr. Hooper, no 

215 



matter how well off he might be. On the other 
hand, while a captain was successful he could 
borrow what he needed. 

He carried on a general loan business in this 
building from the time it was completed until the 
bank was chartered, and then became its first 
president. 

The building has never, in over one hundred and 
forty years, been used for any business but that of 
loaning money. 



216 



Robert Hooper House, Marblehead 




Washington Square 



217 



ROBERT HOOPER HOUSE 

This house was built by Robert Hooper who was 
one of the most wealthy merchants of the town, and 
was president of the Marblehead Bank for many 
years. He lived in princely style for his day, and 
his benevolence, courtesy, and kindness to the poor 
gave him the name of "King" Hooper. This title 
was not given him on account of his wealth, but 
because of his honor and integrity. 

It was said of him that "his word was as good as 
gold," and he never, in all of his long life, was said 
to have defrauded a single soul of even one cent. 

Sailors sought to sail in his ships at lower wages 
than they could obtain elsewhere. His rations 
on board ship were so much superior to the food 
furnished on other vessels that it is said that on 
every voyage of any length his sailors so increased 
their weight by the good food furnished them that 
the clothes they wore aboard ship when they com- 
menced the voyage were always too small when 
they came back to port again. 

During the war of the Revolution he was a 
Loyalist or Tory, and lost most of his property in 
consequence. The house was built in \']']0. It 
is now owned and occupied by the local Y. M. C. A. 

Robert Hooper's only daughter married Cap- 
tain George H. Wilson, who lived to be one of the 

2i8 



oldest merchant sea captains, dying at the age of 
eighty-three. Captain Wilson began his voyages 
as a cabin boy, when he was but twelve years of 
age, and during his seventy years of service had 
visited every known seaport in the world. It is 
said that Captain Wilson and "King" Hooper 
always agreed on every subject except that Im- 
portant one, "freedom of the thirteen Colonies," 
On that subject they never met but to quarrel. 
The daughter would patch up some kind of peace 
between them, but it always happened that they 
soon fell out again over the question of the King 
and his rulership. Finally, both agreed to avoid 
that subject; and for many years, up to the time 
of the battle of Lexington, "freedom" was never 
mentioned by either. 

The following, taken from the local paper, is 
interesting : — 

"One of the most interesting of the old houses 
In Marblehead is the old 'King' Hooper mansion 
on Hooper St., now owned and occupied by the 
Young Men's Christian Association. 

"The building Is of Colonial design, and was built 
in 1745 by Robert Hooper. He was one of the 
wealthiest merchants In the town. He occupied 
the house for many years, and entertained lavishly, 
many of the most noted dignitaries of the country 
being his guests. 

"The building went Into the hands of the late 
219 



George Chamberlln in 1830, and remained In the 
family until 1888, when It was sold to the 
Y. M. C. A. 

"The paper on the lower hall Is the same that 
was on the walls In 1830, and is supposed to be the 
same that was on the walls when Mr. Hooper lived 
there. 

"The main stairway has been much admired. 
It is similar In design to the one in the old State 
House In Boston. 

" In one of the upper rooms is a large fireplace 
in the centre, with closets on each side, the doors 
of which are set at an angle. Many think this 
was caused by the settling of the building, but 
the general opinion is that It was built that way. 

"On the third floor Is a large banquet hall, with 
an arched ceiling. 

"The building Is practically the same to-day 
as when built." 



220 



Agnes Surriage Well, Marblehead 




221 



AGNES SURRIAGE WELL 

In the autumn of 1742, Sir Harry Frankland, 
then collector of customs in the port of Boston, 
made the acquaintance, at the Fountain Inn, of 
Agnes, the daughter of Edward Surriage. 

He was so much struck with her grace and beauty 
that he paid for her education. Frankland then 
purchased a tract of land in Hopkinton, Mass., 
where he erected a house that for that day was a 
magnificent mansion, where he and Agnes resided 
for some years. 

In 1754 he was called to England on important 
private business, and Agnes went with him. He 
endeavored to introduce her into the society he 
had been accustomed to mingle with, but "Mrs. 
Grundy" refused to notice Agnes in any way. 

They were at Lisbon, Portugal, during the se- 
vere earthquake of 1755, and Sir Harry was 
buried beneath the ruins and only rescued by the 
heroic exertion of Agnes Surriage, whom he later 
married. 

In 1757 he was appointed Consul General of 
Portugal. In 1763 they returned to Hopkinton, 
and after spending a few years here in great happi- 
ness they went to Bath, England, on account of 
Sir Harry's health. He died there in 1768, aged 

222 



fifty-two years. Agnes died April 23, 1783, in 
her fifty-seventh year. 

Any one who cares to see the style of house that 
Sir Harry built at Hopklnton Is referred to page 
231, where the Garrison house, In the rear of Med- 
ford Square, Is said to be an exact duplicate of Sir 
Harry's mansion. 

It Is well to remember that Sir Harry's visit to 
Marblehead was not on a pleasure trip, but had 
to do with the building of Fort Sewall, he being 
collector of the port of Boston, which at that time 
included Lynn and Marblehead, Salem having a 
custom collector of her own. 



223 



Old Town Hall, Marblehead 




Washington Street 



224 



OLD TOWN HALL 

This building was erected in 1727. Here Orne 
and Lee fired the hearts of their townsmen ; here 
Elbridge Gerry gave evidence of his ability as a 
speaker; the famous "Essex" regiment, under 
Colonel Glover, was first organized in this building 
in 1775. 

On April 16, 1861, the Marblehead Light In- 
fantry assembled here in response to President 
Lincoln's call for troops to defend the Capitol at 
Washington, and left for that city the same day. 

During the War of the Rebellion, Marblehead 
furnished to the United States army and navy one 
thousand and forty-eight men. John Glover, who 
is spoken of so many times in connection with the 
Revolution, at Marblehead, was a very remarkable 
man. Born in Salem, November 5, 1732, he died 
in Marblehead, January 30, 1797. At the very 
beginning of the Revolution, he raised a regiment 
of one thousand men, popularly known as the 
"Essex" regiment. He afterwards commanded 
the Twenty-first and Fourteenth regiments, and 
under his leadership these regiments were said 
to be the finest in the Continental Army. 



225 



Cradock House, Medford 




Riverview Avenue 



226 



CRADOCK HOUSE 

This was the first brigk house built in the Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony, "and is the oldest building 
now standing in New England, if not in the United 
States." Built while John Winthrop was Governor, 
in 1634, by Mathew Cradock, who was a Non- 
resident Governor of the Massachusetts Colony. 
It is now owned by General Samuel C. Lawrence, 
whose family were formerly the well-known dis- 
tillers of "Medford Rum." 

It retains its original form, and has not been 
changed in any particular in over two hundred 
years. It was designed first of all as a trading- 
post or fort, similar to that of Samuel Maverick's 
at Winnisimmet, now Chelsea, and was therefore 
built to withstand a siege. Its walls are eighteen 
inches in thickness, and all the windows are pro- 
tected by iron shutters. On the second floor are 
small port-holes for the use of guns. Several 
fireproof closets may still be seen in this house, 
showing that valuables were kept here. It stands 
in an excellent situation for defence, and situated 
handily to the Mystic River, which the Indians 
then used for the transportation of their furs. 
Although Mathew Cradock, according to history, 
never crossed the Atlantic to visit his "plantation 
on the Mystic," it was his announced intention 

227 



several times to come over in one of his many stiips, 
which regularly traded between old England and 
New England. He is said to have done more to 
make the settlement on this side of the ocean a 
success than any other ten men ; indeed, Medford 
owes about all of its early prosperity to him. 

He was said to be the richest member of the 
New England Society of Merchants, and freely 
spent his wealth to help the Colony along. 

It is interesting to think of the changes this old 
house has seen. When it was built, this country, 
now teeming with its thousands and millions of 
inhabitants, was a howling wilderness, with no one 
but Indians in the country. Charles the First 
was King in old England, Cromwell had not yet 
begun his great career, Peter the Great was not 
born, and Frederick the Great had not yet appeared 
upon the scene ; Napoleon was unknown to stu- 
dents of history, and the name of Washington was 
not known outside of the English parish where the 
family then lived ; but this old house stood then, 
and still stands, to remind us "Lest we forget what 
our forefathers achieved in the making of a new 
country and nation." 

The present owner has shown great public spirit 
in restoring and caring for this wonderful old house. 



228 



BuRRiLL House, Medford 




235 Salem Street 



229 



BURRILL HOUSE 

This was built in 1738 by M. Polly, who sold 
it in February, 1789, to W. Cutler. He sold it to 
Joseph Tufts, in November, 1793. It was again 
sold to Francis Wood, February, 1795, for one 
hundred and thirty-five pounds "lawful money." 
He sold it to J. S. P. Burrill, in 1847. 

Since that time it has continued in the Burrill 
family up to the present time. 



230 



Old Garrison House, Medford 




Rear of Medford Square 



231 



OLD GARRISON HOUSE 

Built in 1659 hy Major Jonathan Wade, who 
died in 1689, this is one of the three garrison houses 
built in Medford, previous to 1675. One other, 
the Cradock house, is still standing, while the third, 
near the corner of Park Street, was taken down 
many years ago. 

This house has sometimes been called the "fort," 
as to it all the near by inhabitants were accus- 
tomed to flee whenever an Indian alarm was given. 

Its walls are very thick, and it is ornamented with 
what have been called "port-holes." It was origi- 
nally about half the present size, but was enlarged, 
about one hundred years ago, by Benjamin Hall, 
who then owned it. 

This was the headquarters of General Stark pre- 
vious to the battle of Bunker Hill; and after the 
battle to this house were brought the bodies of 
some twenty-five of General Stark's New Hamp- 
shire soldiers, who were buried near by. 

This house is said to be the prototype of the 
house built at Hopkinton, Mass., by Sir Harry 
Frankland, custom officer at the port of Boston, 
who lived there with Agnes Surriage, the beautiful 
Marblehead maid whom he afterwards married. 



232 



Seccomb House, Medford 




High Street, Medford Square 



233 



SECCOMB HOUSE 

Built by Thomas Seccomb In 1756. It was 
copied after the Royal house, and was the first 
house built in New England on the same plan and 
style as the Royal house. 

It has been used of late years by the Medford 
Savings Bank, up to the time that they erected a 
building of their own on an adjoining corner. It is 
now used as offices by the Medford City Govern- 
ment. 

Interest attaches to this house as the home "of 
the most charitable man in New England, in the 
year 1773." 

Thomas Seccomb left all his property to his 
wife, Rebecca, with the provision that she should 
use it for the benefit of the poor of Medford. Soon 
after his death his widow notified the town of what 
she wished to do, and a special town-meeting was 
called in January, 1774, and her gift, in her own 
and husband's name, was regarded of so much 
importance that several sessions of the town-meet- 
ing were held before the voters of the town agreed 
to accept, as a permanent fund, the sum of money 
she offered them, which was one hundred and 
thirty-three pounds, six shillings and eight pence, 
a very large sum of money in those days. When 
the amount left by the majority of freeholders 

234 



at their death seldom amounted to fifty pounds, 
the larger sum left by the Widow Seccomb shows up 
very large. So well has this money been cared for 
and invested, that in addition to helping all the 
worthy poor who have applied for assistance from 
that time until November 3, 1898, the Seccomb 
Fund now amounts to more than seven hundred 
dollars. 



235 



Royal House, Medford 




Main and Royal Streets 



236 



Royal House, Medford 




Rear View 



237 



ROYAL HOUSE 

On the tablet is this : — 

"Once the seat of Colonel Isaac Royal, and built 
by him in 1736." 

This is said to be one of the most historic houses 
in New England ; built after the model of a similar 
house owned by the Royals at Antigua, West 
Indies. This remarkable house has some twenty 
rooms, besides numerous closets and stowaway 
nooks. 

As you wander through the building, in which 
the Sarah Bradley Fulton Chapter of D. A. R. 
have on exhibition various curious and old- 
fashioned articles, the use of some of which to-day 
are well-nigh forgotten, your interest increases 
as you see the beautiful carved stairs and mould- 
ings which adorn nearly every part of this ancient 
habitation. 

Here Washington and Lafayette met and laid 
their plans by which the freedom of the thirteen 
Colonies became assured ; here were the head- 
quarters of part of the New Hampshire soldiers, 
and on the vacant land which still surrounds 
the old house they pitched their tents, and on 
the lawn in front, they met for dress parade and 
inspection. 

238 



Generals Lee and Sullivan later occupied the 
house, and they formally christened it "Hobble- 
Gobblin Hall." 

It has recently been discovered that this prop- 
erty was part of the original allotment to Governor 
John Winthrop, and called by him "The Ten-Acre 
Farm." 

According to some accounts, the foundation of 
this house was built while Winthrop owned the 
land ; but the house itself was built by Isaac Royal, 
whose story is interesting, at the same time some- 
what sad. 

Born in North Yarmouth, Me., he spent more 
than forty years of his life in the West Indies. He 
came to Medford in 1734, and built this house, 
which, owing to his being declared a Tory, was 
confiscated by the Colonials, although his heirs 
afterwards obtained possession of it. 

He was suffering from ill health at the time of the 
Revolution, and this, added to his natural timid- 
ity (he was called the "Timid Tory "), perhaps led 
him to the side of the Crown. Had he been strong 
and robust, we cannot tell but that he would have 
sided with the Colonies. 

To the credit of Medford, he was the only Tory 
in that town in 1776. Dying in England in 1781, 
he still remembered the land of his birth, and 
through his bounty the first professorship of law 
in Harvard College was founded. 

239 



This old landmark is now owned by the Sarah 
Bradley Fulton Chapter of the D. A. R. 

Tradition says that General John Stark held a 
council of war here a few days before the battle of 
Bunker Hill. 

The following is taken from the Bostofi Tran- 
script : — 

"It is interesting to recall the public service and 
benefactions of Colonel Isaac Royal. Inheriting 
his father's estate in 1739, he occupied the house 
built by Colonel Royal, Sr., and here for many 
years he maintained a superb hospitality. He was 
in every way a good citizen, and friendly to every- 
body, nor was he unmindful of his civic duties. 

"From 1743 to 1752 he served as Deputy to the 
General Court, and every year returned his salary 
to the town treasury. 

" He presented to the Colony the chandelier 
which now adorns the old State House. For six- 
teen years he was Chairman of the Board of Se- 
lectmen, and from 1752 to 1774 he served as a 
member of the Governor's Council, travelling back 
and forth in his coach, the only one in Medford. 
Indeed, his well-known equipage, conveying him 
to his official duties and numerous social functions, 
was a familiar sight in Boston streets. 

"He gave one hundred pounds to Charlestown 
to build a parsonage, and in 1745 a gift of eighty 
pounds for a school at Charlestown Neck. When 

240 



Harvard Hall was burnt in January, 1764, and the 
entire library of the Colonies destroyed, he con- 
tributed money enough to generously make good 
the loss. 

" In the troublesome days preceding the Revolu- 
tion, greatly to the grief of his friends, Colonel 
Royal found himself unable to side with the Col- 
onies. It was not that he loved the Colonies- less, 
but that he feared England more. His love for his 
own home, unchanged by his self-exile, was mani- 
fest by his will, made shortly before his death. He 
bequeathed a legacy of plate to the First Church of 
Medford, and about one hundred acres of land in 
Granby, for the use and better support of the com- 
mon schools of the town. He also gave two thou- 
sand acres of land in Granby to Harvard College." 



241 



Lynde House, Melrose 




Main Street and Fells Avenue 



242 



LYNDE HOUSE 

Ensign Thomas Linde built this house in 1670 for 
his son, Joseph, and it has descended through six 
generations to another Joseph, who sold it a few 
years ago. 

Soon after the house was completed, the builder 
left his old home in Boston, and went to live with 
Joseph, where he died in 1693. 

The house is a large and commanding structure, 
and is an interesting specimen of the ancient 
Colonial architecture. It is still in a most excellent 
state of preservation, and shaded by its ancestral 
elms. There are few houses now standing in 
New England that antedate this one; there are 
none that present so fine an appearance. Not 
many of our modern wooden structures will 
exist at the end of nearly two and one-half cen- 
turies, but this is a strongly built, large-timbered 
structure, apparently capable of defying the ele- 
ments for many years longer. 

The stair-rails, mouldings, and tiles all came from 
England. Some of the oak timbers are eighteen 
inches square. 

Deacon Thomas Lynde, the earliest settler by 
that name in this country, first built a house in 
Charlestown, when he came from England, where 
he was born in 1593. He was one of the deputies 

243 



to the General Court in 1636. He died in Maiden 
in December, 1673. He mentions in his will that 
he gave his wife, Rebecca, "my negro boy, Peter, 
and negro girl, Sally, to enjoy and dispose of as 
she sees good." This is one of the first mentions 
of slavery in the Colonial records. 

Ensign Thomas was the oldest son of the Deacon. 
He served in the company of militia organized in 
Maiden, against the Indians, and was instrumental 
in causing the death of King Philip. 



244 



VosE House, Milton 




Adams Street, opposite Eliot 



245 



VosE House 




Tablet 



246 



VOSE HOUSE 

Mr. Vose, who lived here when the Suffolk 
Resolves were adopted, was Governor Hutchinson's 
right-hand man and overseer; and it is mentioned 
in one of the Governor's letters that the last 
handshake he had before getting into the boat 
which was to carry him down the Neponset River 
to the vessel waiting to convey him to England, 
was Mr, Vose's. 

It is curious to trace how it was that these 
Resolves were adopted here rather than at Faneuil 
Hall. The Boston Port Bill forbade the holding of 
town-meetings, so the inhabitants of Boston went 
outside the town and held what they called "coun- 
try meetings," which they claimed were not town- 
meetings and hence not forbidden. At one of 
these "country meetings" the "Suffolk Resolves" 
were adopted. 

At the time of the convention this mansion was 
owned by Daniel Vose, the great man of this 
section. He owned the chocolate mills, which 
were founded in 1765, and were the first in this 
Colony. 

Some stories are told regarding Air. Vose that 
would seem to show that, although apparently a 
zealous patriot, he was sometimes strongly tempted 
to become a Tory. 

247 



Hutchinson House, Milton 




Adams Street 



248 



HUTCHINSON HOUSE 

The house now standing on the site of the origi- 
nal house, which was burnt down in 1827, is said 
to be an exact copy of the wooden building which 
it replaced. A secret passageway from the Ne- 
ponset River to the cellar of the house is still said 
to exist, and is mentioned in Mr. River's book, 
"The Governor's Garden." 

Here Governor Hutchinson fled when his home 
in Garden Court Street, Boston, was sacked by the 
mob, on account of his refusing to return the stamps 
sent by the British Government; and to this old 
house, which the picture represents, the consignee 
of tea, Mr. Rolfe, came to beg the Governor to 
grant clearance to his vessels ; and on his return 
to the Old South, with the Governor's refusal, the 
famous tea party took place. 

Governor Thomas Hutchinson was born in 
Boston in 171 1, and was Governor from 1771 to 
1774. He inherited large possessions, and refused 
to live in the Royal Governor's house, now remem- 
bered as the Province House, as he said he had a 
much better house of his own In North Square. 

This old house is now occupied by the heirs of 
Mrs. Lydia C. Royal. It is said of Hutchinson, 
by one that ought to know, that had he been a 
poor man he would have been with the Colony. 

249 



Tablet, Hutchinson Field 




Adams Street 



250 



Monument, " Lower Green," Newbury 




Dedicated June 17, 1905 



251 



"LOWER GREEN" 

In June, 1635, Rev. James Noyes and others 
landed near the spot where this monument is 
erected. The Indians had hunted in the forest 
and fished in its rivers and lakes for many years, 
but at the time of the landing very few of them 
remained. 

John Woodbridge was the first clerk of the settle- 
ment. Traditions assert that the Rev. Thomas 
Noyes preached his first sermon under the branches 
of a majestic oak, which stood about one hundred 
yards from this monument. 

In May, 1653, many of the inhabitants removed 
to the " upper green." 

A tannery, conducted by Nicholas Easton, who 
afterwards became Governor of Rhode Island, was 
one of the first business enterprises of the new 
settlement. 

Richard Dole had a store here in 1638. In 
July, 1635, the General Court granted liberty to 
Mr. Dunn and Mr. Spear to build a weir at the 
spot where the Parker River Bridge now crosses. 
A year or two later they received permission to 
build a mill, and this was undoubtedly the first 
mill ever built in New England. 

In September, 1635, Francis Plummer was li- 
censed to keep an "ordinary" or tavern, and in 

252 



1637 Johii Knight opened the second tavern. In 
1648 Aquilla Chase was granted a license for being 
the first captain to bring a vessel over the Merrimac 
River bar. 

The memorial monument was dedicated June 
17, 1905, being located on the "lower green" at 
Newbury. The front of the shaft bears the follow- 
ing inscription : — 

"To the men and women who settled in Newbury 
from 1635 ^o 1650 and founded its municipal, 
social and religious life, this monument is dedicated, 
1905." 

On the back of the shaft is a tablet of equal size 
bearing the names of seventy of the first settlers of 
Newbury, with the heading : — 

"Descendants of these first settlers erected this 
memorial." 

The movement to erect this memorial was 
inaugurated by Mrs. Elizabeth L. Withington, 
Newburyport, who has photographs of the monu- 
ment showing inscriptions of the front, and on the 
back is printed the names of the seventy early 
settlers, whose names were decided upon by those 
well qualified to know what names should be 
placed hereon, covering a period of time named, 
1635 to 1650. 



253 



Little House, Newbury 




Hanover Street 



254 



LITTLE HOUSE 

This house was built in 1716 by Air. Atkinson, 
who was a hatter. John Noyes bought it from 
him. He left it to his daughter, Abigail, who 
married David Little, the great-grandfather of the 
present occupant, Mr. S. William Little. 

It stands on one of the most attractive locations 
in "old Newbury." 

The following article was written by Mrs. Mary 
Tappen Little, and appeared in a local newspaper 
a few years ago : — 

"A brother of Major Samuel Noyes, John, was a 
minute man, and was called away from home by his 
military duty on the 19th of April, 1775. John 
Noyes lived in the house on the Upper Green where 
S. W. Little now lives, and his wife was Sarah, 
daughter of Moses Little of Turkey Hill, then a 
captain, and in the following June colonel of a 
regiment which took part at Bunker Hill. Mrs. 
Noyes was in bed near to death of consumption, 
and shortly after, she and a sister died on two 
successive days of the same disease. There were 
In the house with her a young woman helper by 
the name of Molly Flanders, not the one celebrated 
by Defoe, but whom I knew when an old woman 
as 'Aunt' Molly Rogers. The only other person 

255 



in the house was Mrs. Noyes' daughter, Abigail, 
who was but eight years of age. 

"The alarm came, 'The Red Coats are coming !' 
Mrs. Noyes, of course, could not flee, but Molly 
Flanders ran as fast as her legs would carry her, no 
one knows where, since she never told, and the 
neighborhood was too agitated to observe. But 
Abigail, although she was dreadfully afraid, as she 
afterwards acknowledged, would not desert her 
mother. She used to describe her feelings during 
that long day of anxious and terrified suspense. 
She would look out at the High Road, as High Street 
was called, expecting every minute the appearance 
of the scarlet uniforms and glittering muskets of the 
hated British, and would then look over in the oppo- 
site direction to Richard Little's house, where now 
dwells his descendant, Mr. W. Burke Little, and 
long to get over there and be with well persons who 
were grown up and could comfort her. But that 
was not consistent with the sense of duty which was 
exceedingly strong in that family, and so the poor 
child spent the long, tedious day in fear and trem- 
bling, and her progeny by this time must run up into 
the hundreds, for like all earthly things the agony 
came to an end at last, and her father, and even 
Molly Flanders appeared when the scare was over 
and it had proved a false alarm. 

" It is not possible, of many days, and in relation 
to private families, in a country town of farmers 

256 



and their wives and children, to recover and relate 
the doings. But this was an exceptional occasion, 
and on that day the whole of Essex County, and 
the adjacent parts of New Hampshire, were stirred 
as they have scarcely been at any time either before 
or since." 



257 



The Floyd House, Newbury 



S--3! 




Demolished in 1905 



258 



FLOYD HOUSE 

Formerly stood on town land, that is, on the 
side of the road leading to the pasture, and known 
as "Floyd's Lane." 

It is said to have been moved from some other 
location, and was originally owned by Robert 
Floyd, whose son, Jacob, afterwards lived in it. 

The gentleman standing in front of the old house 
is Mr. Isaac Little, one of the historians of New- 
bury, who passed away a few years ago. 



259 



Coffin House, Newbury 




High Street 



260 



COFFIN HOUSE 

Tristram Coffin, the first of that name who 
came to America, was born in Brixton, England, 
and he and his wife, his mother and two sisters 
and five children settled at Salisbury in 1642 ; but 
he moved to Haverhill the same year, and in 1647 
came to Newbury. In 1659 he moved to Nan- 
tucket, where he died. 

His son, Tristram Coffin, Jr., who was one of the 
five children who came from England with his 
father, built this house in 1653. For more than 
half a century he occupied this house. He was a 
deacon in the Newbury Church for over twenty 
years, and died in February, 1704. 

His son, Nathaniel, was the next owner. He 
was representative to the General Court for several 
years. His son, Colonel Joseph Coffin, then took 
possession of the old house. At his death, in 1774, 
his sons, Joseph and Edmund, jointly inherited it. 

In 1825 Lucy Coffin, the daughter of Edmund, 
came into possession of her father's half. In 1805 
Joshua Coffin became heir to his father Joseph's 
portion. 

Lucy died in 1892, and it is still in possession of 
the Coffin family. 

The centennial anniversary of the founding of 
Newbury was celebrated in this house in 1735. 

261 



Joshua Coffin, who was born here in 1805, and 
died in 1864, was called the Historian of Newbury; 
and his history of his native town is very interest- 
ing and valuable. 

The poet Whittier, who was one of his pupils, 
refers to him in these lines : — 

TO MY OLD SCHOOLMASTER 

I, the man of middle years, 
In whose sable locks appears 
Many a warning flake of grey : 
Looking back to that far day, 
And thy primeval lessons, feel 
Grateful smiles my lips unseal. 
As, remembering that I blend 
Olden teacher, present friend, 
Wise with antiquarian search. 
In the scrolls of State and Church. 

General Joseph Coffin and Sir Isaac Coffin, both 
of whom had brilliant records m the Revolutionary 
War, came from this family. 

Whittier and Lucretia Mott are also descendants 
of the Coffin family. 

Inside the house the old fireplace, with its 
painted Dutch tiles, is one of the sights of the town. 

One story of the Centennial Anniversary of the 
first settlement of Newbury is, that it was held in 

262 



the front yard, under the shade of graceful and 
lofty elms. 

The old trees, on account of their height, were 
landmarks for sailors who wished to enter the 
Merrimac River. They were struck by lightning 
several times, and the last one finally destroyed 
some time during the seventies. Two large elm 
trees still stand close by, which were planted by 
Joseph Coffin, in 1792. 



263 



Tablet, Training Green 




High Street, near Hanover 



264 



TRAINING GREEN 

Newbury 

Some seven years after the settlement of New- 
bury at the "lower green," owing to the scarcity 
of tillage land, some of the original settlers removed 
to the "upper green." Among them were Tris- 
tram Coffin, Abraham Tappen, Robert and An- 
thony Morse, Richard Brown, James Noyes, and 
Edward Rawson. 

When the expedition for the capture of Quebec 
was determined on, a detachment of troops, num- 
bering over one thousand, marched from Boston 
and arrived here iji September. Three companies 
of riflemen, under command of Captain Morgan, 
encamped along the site of the present monument. 

The pond near the monument is frequently men- 
tioned in land grants, and was no doubt of artificial 
construction, as many complaints are made in old 
papers and deeds of the great scarcity of water for 
stock, among those who moved from the "lower" 
to the "upper green." When the "upper green" 
was first settled, it probably extended from Hanover 
Street to the Artichoke River and from Parker 
Street to the Merrimac. 

In 1642 "the hill by the little pine swamp" 
was selected as the most convenient place for a new 

265 



meeting-house, and one was built in 1646. The 
old building was in the graveyard, across the street 
from the site of the present church. Traditions 
state that this first church was surrounded by a 
picket fence, with several gates for the entrance 
of worshippers. Horses used frequently to ob- 
struct the entrance of would-be worshippers, much 
to their discomfort, so the selectmen ordered that 
hereafter "no horse should be 'tyed' outside the 
fence," whereupon, to the great surprise of the 
complainants, the next Sunday they found all the 
horses securely fastened to the inside of the fence, 
which was a greater annoyance than the first way. 



266 



Ilsley House, Newbury 




High Street 



267 



ILSLEY HOUSE 

This house was built by Stephen Swett in 1670. 
He sold it in 1691 to Hugh March. In 171 3 March 
conveyed it to Captain Henry Lyon. A little 
later in the same year it was sold by Captain Lyon 
to John Woodbridge, "for whom the schoolhouse 
on High Street, facing the Green, is named." 

In 171 5 Isaac Noyes purchased it. His widow 
married David Pierson, and again it was sold to 
Moses Noyes, Jr., in 1765. Moses Noyes conveyed 
it to David Clarke, in 1772, who sold it to Nathan 
Pierce, who, in 1780, transferred it to Nicholas Tit- 
comb. In 1783 Oliver Putnam became its owner, 
and in 1797 Isaiah Ilsley bought it. In 1802 
Stephen Ilsley, Jr., inherited it, and it has remained 
in this family up to the present time. 

About 1756 extensive alteration was made in this 
old house. Several large rooms were added on the 
east, towards the left. The large room on the 
northeast end has been used for various manufac- 
turing purposes, and when Oliver Putnam became 
its owner, this room was fitted up as a barroom and 
smoking-room. The older part, the cellar walls 
of which were made of huge blocks of stone, was 
evidently placed there to stay. The chimney has a 
foundation of solid stone eighteen feet by eight, and 
seven feet high from the cellar floor. 

268 



Sewall House, Newbury 




High Street 



269 



SEWALL HOUSE 

There is a small tablet on this house, which 
reads as follows : — 

"Sewall house; built by Henry Sewall as early 
as 1678." 

He was the oldest grandson of Judge Samuel 
Sewall, the famous witchcraft judge of Salem. 
Henry was born in Coventry, England, in 1 576. His 
son, Henry, Jr., came to this country in 1634. He 
moved to Newbury in 1635, and to Rowley a few 
years later. In 1660 he bought the land on which 
this house stands, from John Brown, one of the 
original grantors, and soon after built this house. 
He died in 1700, aged eighty-six. 

In May, 1637, Henry went on foot, with many 
others, to Cambridge, and was made a freeman, or 
voter. In 1646 he married Jane Dummer of Dum- 
mer Academy, and went back to England, but in 
1659 returned to America, and soon after bought 
the land on which the house stood, from Edward 
Woodbridge. 

Judge Samuel Sewall was Henry's oldest son, and 
he was born in Hampstead, England. He married 
Hannah Hull, whose father was mint-master of the 
Colonies, and it is currently reported that her father, 

270 



as a wedding dower, caused her to stand on one side 
of an enormous pair of scales, and weighted Han- 
nah down with bright new silver shillings. As she 
weighed something like two hundred pounds, Mr. 
Sewall received quite a sum in money, in addition 
to the lady. You often hear, nowadays, about 
people who are born with a gold spoon in their 
mouths, but here was a young couple that started 
in life, and the lady's weight was in silver. 



271 



Tappen House, Newbury 




High Street 



272 



TAPPEN HOUSE 

On this house is the following tablet : — 

"Tappen house; built in 1697, by Dr. Peter 

appen. 

Abraham Tappen, the father of Peter, who built 
this house, was born in England in 1608. He mar- 
ried in 1637, in Yarmouth, England, and came to 
this country the same year. 

In 1661 he conveyed the land on which this 
house stands to his son, Peter, who was a celebrated 
physician for his day, having gone as far as Ports- 
mouth, N.H., and Saybrook, Conn., on professional 
visits. 



273 



The Old Elm, Newbury 



[E^ 


m 




1 


^Hk. ^^:.-, '-A ■mm- 


^^'■W^ 


"^4 

1 




r 



Formerly stood on Parker St. 



274 



THE OLD ELM 

Demolished during the winter of 1902-1903. 
It has been made widely known by the verses of 
Miss Hannah F. Gould, herself a native of the town. 

"Did It ever come your way, to pass 
The silvery pond, with Its fringe of grass, 
And, through the lane hard by, to see 
The Veteran Elm of Newbury ?" 

The following Is taken from the Youth'' s Com- 
panion: — 

"This is the obituary of a tree. Another old elm 
is gone : another of those majestic, storied elms of 
New England, which are the delight of the visitor 
and the just pride of the native. 'The old elm 
of Old Newberry' fell a victim to one of the recent 
gales. True, It was past its prime ; venerable and 
beautiful still, but the storms of the last dozen 
years had wrenched away a number of great 
branches — large enough, each of them, for a good- 
sized tree — and the perfection of Its sweeping out- 
line was marred and maimed. Nevertheless, it will 
be sadly missed, and the glory of West India Lane 
Is gone." 

The exact age of the ancient tree was not known, 
but it could have lacked but few years of two cen- 

275 



turies. Local traditions perpetuated in verse by 
the once popular but now almost forgotten poetess, 
Hannah Gould, assigned to it a pleasing history. 
It stood before the Jaques house, near the entrance 
gate, planted there, according to the story, of 
which there is no reason to doubt the truth, by 
young Richard Jaques, when it was a sapling, slen- 
der, light and small enough to be carried in the 
hand as a walking-stick. He had been calling 
on his sweetheart, Elizabeth Knight, and having 
to return late by a lonely road, lighted only by the 
uncertain rays of the moon and shadowed deeply 
much of the way, he pulled up the little elm, an 
unregarded growth by her door, and took it with 
him by way of staff and defence. 

When he reached his own home he recalled, with 
a pretty touch of sentiment, the place whence the 
little tree came, and instead of casting it aside, he 
planted it. The little green sprig grew and flour- 
ished, and in time sheltered not only the lovers, 
who were married in 1713, but their children and 
children's children. 

The "Old Elm of Newbury" was one of that 
wide and beloved circle of acquaintance, all great 
trees, so valued by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes. 
He tested it with the familiar tape measure always 
in his pocket, and admired its huge girth and tower 
of greenery. True, he pronounced it, in careful 
comparison with one or two other of his noble 

276 



friends, whom the winters had treated more kindly, 
"slightly overrated" ; but he relented the moment 
that he had pronounced judgment, and hastened 
to add that it was none the less a "stately vege- 
table." 



277 



Another of Newbury's old elms still standing 
ON Hanover Street 




278 



ANOTHER OF NEWBURY'S OLD ELMS 

WiiiTTiER wrote of a similar old elm tree, near 
Haverhill, as follows : — 

"A dweller where my infant eyes 

Looked out on Nature's sweet surprise, 

Whose home is in the ample shade 

Of the old Elm Tree where I played, 

Asks for her book a word of mine : — 

I give it in a single line : 

Be true to Nature and to Heaven's design !" 



279 



NoYES House, Newbury 




Parker Street, near High 



280 



NOYES HOUSE 

On the tablet is the following : — 

"Noyes house; built in 1646 by James Noyes." 

Rev. James Noyes was born in England in 1608, 
and educated at Oxford College. After his arrival 
in New England, he preached for some months at 
Medford, but came to Newbury in 1635. He built 
this house, and lived in it until the time he died, in 
October, 1656. 

By his will he gave all his property to his wife. 
The inventory filed at the Probate Office in Salem 
estimated the entire value as one hundred pounds. 
His widow and children continued to live in this 
house after his death. Mrs. Noyes died ten or 
twelve years after her husband. Thomas, the 
oldest son, succeeded to the property at his mother's 
death. He married Sarah Greenleaf, and their 
children and their children's children resided there 
until the death of Miss Mary Coffin Noyes, in 
January, 1895, who was the last direct descendant 
of the Rev. James. 

Benjamin Woodbridge, the first man to receive 
a degree at Harvard College, was a nephew of the 
Rev. James, and was born in this house. 

"It is Newbury's proudest show place, full of 
281 



the objects and the associations which delight the 
dreamy and imaginative tourist. The arrange- 
ment of the rooms is after the style of the times, 
with the addition of a wing at the back, giving the 
house the shape of the letter T. The small front 
entry, with doors opening on either side, and the 
narrow staircase, making two square turns in an 
ascent of less than a dozen steps, has never been 
altered. The slender baluster is very quaint, and 
seems very fragile to us as we remember some we 
have seen in other houses. The cellar door opens 
under the stair. Here we may realize the great 
bulk of the chimney, which makes, as is usual, the 
back wall of the stairway. 

" Standing by the stair Is an old-fashioned table, 
very oddly arranged so as to fold up, If necessary. 
This, together with an oak chair, very heavy and 
clumsy, and some other articles, Is said to have 
been brought from England by Mr. Noyes. 

"The north room, on the right of the entrance, 
has been divided Into three apartments, each as 
large as the average rooms In a dwelling of our 
time. Much of the plastering on the ceilings Is over 
two hundred years old, and is as firm as ever. To 
enumerate the articles of antique furniture which 
this old house contains would require more space 
than we can devote to the purpose. 

"The chimney was formerly about four yards 
square at the bottom, and extended nearly to the 

282 



back wall of the house. About twenty years ago 
the bricks began to fall out at the back, owing to 
the large amount of sand in the mortar. It was 
then decided to make the chimney smaller, and to 
create a small kitchen between the two large rooms 
In the main part of the house. The brick and mor- 
tar taken away made twenty wagon loads ; and, 
hidden away in a corner of the chimney, the work- 
men discovered a secret closet, the existence of 
which had never been suspected. It was probably 
used to hide valuables in case of Indian raids. 

"The rough, unfinished garret extends the whole 
length of the house, and is stored with treasures of 
a bygone age. There we find three old guns, nearly 
six feet long, and falling to pieces with extreme age. 
We also discover two swords, one an army weapon 
of antique pattern, and the other a gentleman's 
rapier, such as dangled by the side of the gallants 
of old, ready to spring forth in a flash to defend an 
honored name, to resent an Insult, or to strike a 
blow for church and country." 



283 



John Adams House, Quincy 




Franklin Street, near Independence Avenue 



284 



Tablet 




285 



HOME OF JOHN ADAMS 

This is the liousc that the elder Adams wrote 
about, "I had rather build on Penn's Hill than 
be the first prince of Europe," and Mrs. Adams, 
following in the same line, declares, "My humble 
cottage at the foot of Penn's Hill has more charms 
for me than the drawing-room at St. James." 

Of John's parents little is known. His father 
was a small farmer, who, in the long winter even- 
ings, added to his very limited income by making 
shoes. He was a deacon of the church, so we know 
he must have been honest, sober, industrious and 
religious. 

Of Mrs. Adams, John's mother, we know even 
less than we do of his father. 

John was said to be a dull scholar, and at one 
time preferred to dig ditches about the lowlands 
towards West Quincy rather than learn his Latin 
verbs, but after somewhat of a short trial at dig- 
ging, he went back to his books. 

On graduating from Harvard he took up the 
mainstay of graduates in those days, school teach- 
ing. 

Three years after John was admitted to the 
SuflPolk Bar, his father died, leaving him the farm. 

At the age of twenty-six he married Abigail 
Smith, daughter of Rev. William Smith of Wey- 

286 



mouth. So much complaint was made to the par- 
son about the poor match his daughter was making 
in marrying such a poor lawyer, that to set things 
right, he preached a sermon, long remembered by 
his people, from the following text : — 

"For John came, neither eating bread nor drink- 
ing wine, and ye say he had a devil." 

Adams made his mark when he defended Cap- 
tain Preston, who was tried by the civil authorities 
for causing the Boston massacre. In 1774 he went 
to Philadelphia as a delegate, and while he was 
absent occurred the bombardment of Boston. 

Both of the houses occupied by the Adamses are 
unique, having the inner walls of brick, one being 
of kiln-burnt, and the other of simple clay. They 
have no boards on their outer walls, the clapboards 
being fastened to the studding with wrought-iron 
nails. 

Quincy was part of Braintree until 1792, when 
it was named for the Adamses. 

The admiration for this family is shown by 
the memorial tablets on each side of the pulpit of 
the Unitarian church, bearing testimony to their 
fidelity, patriotism and sterling character. These 
tablets were placed there by vote of the town of 
Quincy. 

Extract from the Boston Transcript^ — October, 
1910. 

"Those with the old-fashioned ideas about mar- 
287 



ricd life, Its obligations, privileges and compensa- 
tions, will solemnly and joyfully welcome the anni- 
versary day of the wedding of the man and woman 
so closely identified with the historical and public 
life of New England — and yet the brightest star 
in their crown is the way they lived together as 
husband and wife. 

"Tuesday, October 25, 1764, was the wedding 
day of John and Abigail Adams. It is a long stretch 
from then to now — and it was a wise thought to 
bring that day, and all it means, to our remem- 
brance just at this time — 'lest we forget,' for- 
get that after all a perfect marriage Is the purest, 
happiest, holiest friendship this world can know. 
The French word 'camaraderie' also describes the 
happy marriage. There is still another word, an 
American word, common to uncouthness, yet it 
means much after all, and fits the amiable, cheerful 
duality of the 'daily round, the common task' of 
ordinary married life — the word 'chums.' 

" Loving friends, faithful comrades were John 
and Abigail Adams. The modern word cannot be 
used in connection with the familiar dignity of their 
intercourse — that word belongs more to the freedom 
and latitude of modern life. May be, after all, if it 
were possible to restore to some degree the reserve 
and formalities of those earlier days, marriage and 
the home would be happier and more stable. Per- 
haps what is really needed is a loftier conception by 

288 



young men and women of the desirability of mar- 
riage. To John Adams was given this high ideal, 
even as a young man. 

"And what of her ? What did the girl, Abigail, 
see when she stood where the 'brook and river 
meet'? Her own words are best, written when 
twenty years John Adams's wife: 'I look back 
to the early days of our acquaintance and friend- 
ship as to the days of love and innocence, and, with 
an indescribable pleasure, I have seen near a score 
of years roll over our heads with an affection height- 
ened and improved by time, nor have the dreary 
years of absence in the smallest degree effaced 
from my mind the image of the dear, untitled man 
to whom I gave my heart.' 

" ' Faint heart never won,' and the man found he 
had need of all his courage, for Parson Smith 
proved a father with a mind of his own, which 
shared the distrust of the times in regard to law as 
a profession. It was too early for young Adams 
to have proved what he believed, and according to 
his diary, meant to prove, ' that the study and prac- 
tice of law does not dissolve the obligations of 
morality and religion.' 

" If he persisted in visiting the daughter, Abigail, 
he would do it with little or no encouragement from 
the father, and when he rode over to Weymouth, 
from Braintree, his nag must be tied to an alien 
tree, for there was no shelter for the lawyer's horse 
V 289 



In the parson's barn. Surely there is no better 
safeguard for a young man's morals and ambitions 
than the love of a pure and high-minded young 
woman. John Adams's future was safe in the 
hands of Abigail Smith. 

"As for her, she showed the same grit and spirit 
amid the noise and trial of that small but vital 
domestic battle that she did when her heart ached 
and spirit was tried with the distress of the Revo- 
lution and contest of nations. And as peace came 
to their country, so at last one October day Parson 
Smith raised his hands in blessing upon the union 
of John and Abigail. She put her hand in the hand 
of her husband, and together they walked that 
autumn afternoon the few miles that lay between 
her old home and the new one where began the 
happy married life of half a century. 

"All those years were, as John Adams prophesied 
they would be, trials of their and the nation's 'faith 
patience and perseverance.' 

" Through this farmhouse door, over whose thresh- 
old may none irreverent be allowed to pass, Abigail 
Adams and her boy, John Quincy, a lad of seven, 
went to the hill near by to watch the smoke of 
battle and listen to the roar of cannon until head 
and heart ached together. Later in this room above, 
the lonely woman began her nightly vigil, while the 
'cannon continued firing and my heart beat pace 
with them all night.' 'The rattling of the win- 

290 



dows, and the jar of the house and the continued 
roar of twenty-four pounders' were all agony to 
the watcher. 

"The absent husband writes, while longing for 
his wife, his children, his home : 'The business be- 
fore me is arduous. I have the characters and tem- 
pers, the principles and views, of fifty gentlemen, 
total strangers, to study, and the trade, policy, and 
whole interest of a dozen provinces to learn. I 
have multitudes of pamphlets, newspapers, and 
private letters to read.' 

" He was torn with anxiety for his little ones and 
the wife of his heart: 'his health was bad and his 
eyes poor,' yet he was buoyed up by the hope of a 
noble, great future for his country and 'a free 
Constitution.' 

" It is of these days the wedding anniversary 
held yesterday In the old farmhouse will speak most 
eloquently. But after all It can tell but half the 
story. The twenty-fifth celebration of this happy 
marriage was amid far different scenes. Peace 
had been declared. Independence obtained — and at 
St. James' Court Abigail Adams had taken her place 
as the wife of our first minister to England. Well 
might the reunited couple, amid the paraphernalia 
of glittering royalty, and with honor of place and 
position, pray the prayer of Agur for humility and 
moderation : 'Lest we be full and deny Thee.'" 



291 



John Quincy Adams House, Quincy 




292 



JOHN QUINCY ADAMS HOUSE 

John Quincy Adams was born in Braintree, July 
II, 1767. He was named for John Quincy, the 
parson, from whom the city of Quincy derived its 
name, after separating from Braintree. 

In March 1786, he entered Harvard, and gradu- 
ated in 1789. He became a law student at New- 
buryport with Chief Justice Parsons in 1794. In 
1796 he represented the United States at the court 
of Portugal. He went to Berlin the next year, and 
returned to Boston in 1801. In 1803 he was chosen 
to the United States Senate ; and in 1809 President 
Madison sent him to Russia, and on the expiration 
of President Monroe's term of ofhce, he was elected 
President of the United States. 

In 1829 he returned to Quincy, where he died in 
February, 1848. 

This house was presented to the Quincy Histori- 
cal Society by the Honorable Charles Francis 
Adams. 



293 



Tablet, Christ Church, Quincy 




294 



CHRIST CHURCH 

The first church of the Episcopal Society was 
organized in 1728, and built on land given to the 
church by Benjamin Vesey. It was located on 
School Street, where the cemetery now is. In 
1832 Mr. Aptheop gave land on Elm Street, where 
a new church was built in 1859. This church 
was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in i860. Again 
it sufi'ered the fate of its predecessor in Alarch, 
1873 ; but in 1874, a fine, large, and commodious 
church, of Quincy granite was built, and still 
stands as a monument to the perseverance of its 
worshippers. 



295 



Yeaman House, Revere 




296 



YEAMAN HOUSE 

Built in 1680. Among the earliest grantors of 
land at Winnisimmit, now Chelsea, was John New- 
digate of Boston. This house was built by his son, 
Nathan. It afterwards was owned by the Shrimp- 
ton and the Yeaman families. The Cheever and 
Watts families have also occupied this house. 

Itis said to be one of the oldest houses in America. 

The following article is taken from the Boston 
Globe : — 

"History records that an important crisis in the 
American Revolution was once passed in safety by 
the aid of a woman. 

" Mrs. Mary Martin, occupying this house, was 
the maker of events, and her wit, tact, and courage 
were wholly responsible for the favorable termina- 
tion of the crisis. 

"The tradition is still kept among her many 
descendants of the Martin family in Boston and vi- 
cinity. The event occurred May 27, 1775, during 
the memorable siege of Boston, just three weeks to 
a day before the battle of Bunker Hill. 

"The headquarters of the British army, under 
Gen. Gage, were in Boston, and troops were dis- 
tributed at various points from Roxbury Neck to 
the foot of Hanover Street. A detached force of 
some 300 men was about this time stationed at an 

297 



outpost on 'Noddles Island,' and formed the ex- 
treme right of the line. 

"Their nearest supports were Sir Henry Clinton's 
division of 2000 men, separated from them by the 
harbor channel. Clinton's troops were luxuriously 
quartered among the wealthy residents of Boston, 
and in no great mood for active fighting after their 
rough experience at Lexington, as the American 
General, Artemas Ward, shrewdly surmised. 

"Here was an opportunity General Ward had 
long awaited. A chance for a bold, brilliant, 
decisive action, the capture of the outpost, and to 
fire the patriot heart by another victory. 

" Late on the evening of May 26, all was bustle 
and activity in the American lines at Cambridge. 

" A party of 600 New Hampshire and Massachu- 
setts troops, under Colonel (afterward General) John 
Stark, of Bennington fame, soon after dark marched 
to Medford and from thence to Breeds Island. 

" The contemplated attack was to be an early 
morning visitation when the outpost garrison were 
at breakfast, and the camp surrounded and bagged 
by one grand stroke of the beleaguered forces. 

" Soon after midnight, however, a tremendous 
thunderstorm left the roads in such condition that 
it was possible to make but very slow headway, and 
faint suffusions of dawning day became visible in 
the east long before the marching column arrived 
at its destination. 

298 



" Chafing like a chained lion over the luck which 
had caused such delay, and seemed destined to de- 
feat the enterprise, the fiery Stark paced to and fro 
before his men in an agony of impatience. 

"Maddened at the thought, he stopped short in 
his walk, brought his foot with a significant stamp to 
the ground, showing that his resolution was taken, 
and gave orders for an attack on the enemy's out- 
post as soon as his troops could be brought up. 

" In the meantime, unbeknown to General Stark, 
the British General, Sir Henry Clinton, and 1200 
of the 92d Highlanders had crossed over to East 
Boston. 

" In fact. Sir Henry and his staff were self-im- 
posed guests of Mrs. Martin that night. 

"The supreme indiiference and careless confi- 
dence of the British officers indicated that they also 
were ignorant of the web of circumstances gather- 
ing about them. At 10 o'clock that morning most 
of the staff officers were in their beds. Sir Henry, 
who was passionately fond of music, was trilling a 
favorite composition of Mozart on the piano. 

" Mrs. Martin had knowledge of General Stark's 
movement, however, and her four sons were in the 
patriot general's command. She was well aware of 
the danger that threatened them, and as the morn- 
ing wore on with no news of the invading forces, her 
apprehension and agitation were intensified. 

" Every moment increased the danger of the 
299 



American general and his army, but with the ready 
wit of woman she saw the necessity of putting con- 
straint on her feelings and of detaining him who held 
the destiny of her kin and country in his hand, by 
every artifice at her command. 

"Therefore, while her servants were bustling 
about arranging for the coming noon meal, she gra- 
ciously smiled, assented, and chatted familiarly with 
the general, and did all she could to make time pass 
imperceptibly. 

"Though Mrs. Martin had given orders in Sir 
Henry's hearing that the dinner should be hurried 
on the table, the general opinion prevailed that the 
mistress would not be particularly disobliged by 
delay, and all functionaries moved in an unusually 
leisurely and circumstantial manner. 

"The bell was finally rung, however, and the 
British commander and his aids took their places 
at the banquet table. It may be depended upon 
that even Solomon in all his glory never sat down 
to a feast like this. 

"On the centre of the board an enormous cut 
of roast beef reared its ramparts, rich, tender, and 
juicy, and offered glorious possibilities for a charge 
by the doughty Briton. 

"There were side dishes of mashed potato, squash 
adorned with savory spots of pepper on its flowery 
surface, and deep crimson winter beets, and there 
were dishes of "sass," apple, cranberry, currant 

300 



and plum, plates piled high with rye and wheat 
bread, baked early that day, and tall pitchers of 
cider and sparkling beer stood by the general's 
plate ready for his hand. 

"Mrs. Martin, outwardly with all pleasure and 
watchfulness, urged one dainty after another on 
her distinguished guest, until it did not seem 
possible that Sir Henry could eat another mouthful. 
His siesta of gastronomlcal bliss, however, was 
here broken upon by the entrance of an officer. 

"'General,' said he, excitedly, 'I see smoke 
rising over the woods in the direction of Breeds 
Island. It looks ominous ! We have no troops in 
that direction. I suggest that precautions be 
taken against the possibility of an attack.' 

"'Pooh ! Pooh !' The commander made merry 
at the very idea. 'An assault by the rebels ! let 
them come ! But there are no rebel troops on 
"Noddles Island," I warrant you.' 

" But the officer still persisted in his counsel. 
'General,' he repeated, 'I heard a bugle note 
echoing through the woods, faintly but distinctly, 
a summons to the charge. Let me advance 
skirmishers in that direction to see if the alarm be 
false. It will at least do no harm.' 

"The ominous warning of the subordinate was 
not lost on Sir Henry. He hesitated, but the 
leader of the British forces was a glutton, and the 
climax of the meal had not yet transpired. The 

301 



delicious odor of hot mince pie was wafted from 
the oven. 

'" Begone, officer !' said he, impatiently, then he 
added mentally, 'I will wait for the pie.' 

" It was wonderful how innumerable were the 
obstructions of delay, but at last there was borne 
to his plate an enormous piece of pie, plumped with 
dressing, and browned to the daintiest shade. 

" How lovely was its effect on the mind of the 
commander may be imagined when there came to 
his ears the sound of intermittent musket shots 
like the patter of raindrops before a heavy shower, 
then peal on peal of thunder, the crescendo and 
diminuendo of battle. 

" Now that the horse had been stolen from the 
stable right under his very nose, mighty was the 
promptitude with which Sir Henry drew up his 
forces in battle, and tremendous was the alacrity 
with which he set out after the audacious tres- 
passers, but just when the redcoats were ready for a 
decisive charge, the rear guard of the patriot force 
had crossed to Breeds Island. 

"Thus ended the second battle of the Revolution. 
The goddess of war really smiled on the Americans, 
as some thirty British officers and men fell before 
their fire." 



302 



DiLLAWAY House, Roxbury 




Eliot Square 



303 



DILLAWAY HOUSE 

This was built by the Rev. Oliver Peabody in 
1752, who used it as the parsonage of the early 
church. Afterwards occupied by the Rev. Amos 
Adams and Rev. Dr. Potts, and at one time be- 
longed to Colonel Heath, but is now the property 
of C. K. Dillaway. 

This house is connected with the early history 
of the town of Roxbury. All of the inmates were 
ardent patriots, and all of them at some time were 
pastors of the first church in Eliot Square. It was 
also the headquarters of General Thomas during 
the Revolutionary siege of Boston. 

The appearance of Eliot Square has not been 
seriously altered in over a century. The house, in 
its style of architecture, is attractive, and with its 
large frontage is one of the many old houses that 
appeal to a person who is interested in "the days 
of long ago." 

After the war of 1775, it was long the residence 
of the venerable, reverend, and revered Charles 
Dillaway, whose connection with the public schools 
of Boston was so valuable. 

Some one has said that "this fine old house is 
one of the monuments to the early culture of this 
neighborhood. This in itself gives dignity and 

304 



sentimental value to the spot." Another person 
has written : — 

"This fine old mansion, practically unchanged 
within and without, standing In the centre of the 
three-quarters of an acre of land, surrounded by 
fine old trees, Is still of such beauty and dignity 
that It Is well worth a long journey to see. Its 
gambrel roof is of unusual type, very high and 
steep, and yet so perfectly proportioned that it 
gives an air of stateliness to the whole mansion. 
Situated almost in the geographical centre of 
Boston, It Is easy of access, and ought to be visited 
yearly by many thousand sightseers." 

From Its upper windows the battle of Bunker 
Hill and the burning of Charlestown was witnessed 
by General Thomas and his officers. 



305 



Parting Stone, Roxbury 




Eliot Square 



306 



Parting Stone, the Other Side 




307 



PARTING STONE 

Among the old landmarks yet remaining in 
Roxbury, and one of the most interesting, is a 
large stone at the corner of Centre and Roxbury 
streets, known as the "Parting Stone." 

On its northerly side it directs to Cambridge and 
Watertown, and on the southerly side to Dedham 
and Rhode Island. Lord Percy's soldiers read its 
inscription as they passed it by on their way to 
Lexington one hot April forenoon, and it has 
afforded information to many a wayfarer for a 
great many years. 

This is a durable and visible monument to the 
good man who placed it, Paul Dudley. He was 
son of Governor Joseph Dudley, and was born at 
the old homestead on Dudley Street in 1675. He 
graduated from Harvard in 1690, went to London, 
and studied law at the "Temple." When his 
father wsis made Governor, in 1702, he returned 
to America. Afterwards he was a member of the 
legislature, and of the executive council, and 
Speaker of the House. He was also a justice of the 
Supreme Court in 1718. 

He died at his home in West Roxbury in 1751. 

Many monuments still remain to him in the old 
milestones located on every road leading to Bos- 
ton, which are marked "P. D." 

308 



The following is talcen from the Boston Tran- 
script : — 

"Paul Dudley's 'Five-mile' (Jamaica Plain) 
stone still stands and still bears its inscription, and 
let us hope that the Bostonian or some kindred 
society may be inspired to protect and preserve 
it, as well as its famous and historic confrere, 
'The Parting Stone,' past which Lord Percy 
filed his hurrying troops to the right on a certain 
memorable April morning. This last does not 
look to be any too well cared for ; it seems rather 
to be gradually sinking into 'innocuous desuetude' 
and the sidewalk. 

" Let us pray that they both escape the fate that 
unhappily befell the former connecting link, 
'Paul Dudley's Four-mile' stone, which stood 
on Centre Street (Jamaica Plain), a little beyond 
Cross (now Day) and Perkins streets — another 
crossroad. A few years since the city road master 
or division foreman (or whatever his title was), 
having a soul above antiquities, gave it away to a 
builder who was putting up some houses near by. 
This other iconoclast trimmed it down and squared 
it off" to fit, and inserted what was left of it into the 
street wall of No. 368 Centre Street, near Forbes, 
where its mutilated remains now present to the 
curious observer a lying statement of the distance 
to 'Boston Townhouse,' they having travelled 
several hundred feet away from their proper place. 

309 



"If the immortalizer of the town pump and the 
old Province House were still with us, one can 
fancy how his imagination might revivify the 
scenes of the past which the venerable relic has 
witnessed, and voice the lamentations of this 
monument of Judge Dudley's pious public spirit 
at being ignobly wrenched from the socket where 
he set it, decapitated, and compelled to bear false 
witness, while immured rods away from the spot 
where it had directed the traveller's footsteps for 
over a hundred and fifty years. 

"The 'Parting Stone' was such, both poetically 
and literally, for the high road there divided, the 
right branch going westward to Watertown, 
Worcester, and beyond ; the left, south to Dedham 
and the Providence plantations. What visions 
of oldtime separations and dangers does not the 
simple word 'parting' suggest!" 



310 



Eliot Church, Roxbury 




Eliot Square 



311 



Eliot Church 




Side View 



312 



Tablet, Eliot Church 




313 



ELIOT CHURCH 

For nearly two hundred and eighty years there 
has been a church on this hilltop. Rev. Thomas 
Weld, its first pastor, was a man of whom it is 
said "He left his mark upon the history of his 
time." 

He was a native of Tirling, in Essex County, 
England, and came to this country in the year the 
first church was built here. He "came, over the 
sea" in the William and Francis, a small schooner. 
and was the founder of the Roxbury Latin School. 

The first church was built here in 1632, and was 
used by the settlers as a town hall. It was a rude 
log cabin, in which worship was carried on after 
severe Puritan style, as late as 1674. At the 
Hundredth Anniversary of the erection of the 
present building, the old days were recalled as 
follows : — - 

"In the past days of severe and uncompromising 
Puritanism, of our long prayers, stoveless audito- 
riums, musicless services and the stocks and pillory 
link these gray days with the bright present of 
liberality of religious and political views and the 
pleasing and helpful influence of art, and in this 
advance, is the story of all American advance." 

In 1680 a larger and better building was erected, 
which was destroyed by fire in 1746. The fire 

3H 



caught, the records say, from a foot-stove, "Di- 
vine judgment upon the love of ease and luxury" 
which was breaking into the settlement. 

The chronicle goes on to show that until this 
time the fire of devotion was the only warmth the 
old meeting-house had through the long services, 
although some of the worshippers would take their 
dogs to lie on the floor while they put their feet 
upon them, the better to endure the winter cold. 

"The church was regarded as the safest place 
in which to keep the powder of the settlers, and 
sometimes it was stored in the steeple, on the 
beams of the roof, and other out-of-the-way places. 
If a thunderstorm came on during worship, the 
congregation would take shelter in the woods for 
fear of an explosion. In seasons of abundance, 
the farmers were allowed to store their grain in the 
loft ; while notices of every kind, resolutions and 
orders, summonses to town meetings, intentions of 
marriage, copies of the law against Sabbath- 
breaking, announcements of vendues, lists of the 
town officers and rules about the Indians were 
posted on the building. In the rear of the meeting- 
house were the inevitable stocks and pillory." 

The fourth house was built in 1746, and endured 
until 1804, when the present structure took its 
place. Among the names of citizens who wor- 
shipped there are Curtis, May, Seaver, Bowles, 
Crafts, Williams, Heath (of Revolutionary fame), 

315 



Ruggles, Dudley, and Joseph Warren, who fell at 
Bunker Hill. The lawn was the camping-ground 
of part of the American forces, and General Wash- 
ington reviewed the troops there. 

The present structure was dedicated on June 7, 
1804. It is considered one of the most commodious 
and beautiful of the old churches in New Eng- 
land, and its acoustic properties are perfect. 
There is a tradition that Bulfinch, the architect 
of the State House, had something to do with the 
plans. The pews are large and comfortable; the 
pulpit is high in air, almost like a little gallery, 
and the finish of the whole interior is extremely 
simple. There is a reposeful air — a holy calm — ■ 
about the old place, and yet it does not seem old. 
Those massive timbers, it is said, which constitute 
its frame, give promise of endurance for another 
century. 

In those early days it was customary to have a 
pastor and a teacher, and in 1632 Thomas Weld 
was invested with the pastoral care of the church 
in Roxbury. Eliot was ordained as the teacher, 
but was actually the leading and powerful spirit 
in the work of the church, although Weld was con- 
sidered faithful and scholarly, albeit extremely 
dogmatic. 

Thomas Walter, son of Nehemiah Walter, was a 
minister from 1718 to 1725, and Oliver Peabody 
had a brief pastorate from 1750 to 1752. 

316 



Then came Amos Adams, the patriot minister 
during the days preceding the Revolutionary War, 
from 1753 to 1775. He had a plain way of telling 
the people of their sins, so that they grew restless 
under his attacks. 

The unsettled condition of the country during 
the war seems to have affected the church, and 
there was no minister until 1782, when Dr. Porter 
was ordained. He was a devoted pastor for 
fifty-one years. It was during his settlement that 
a change in theology swept over the New England 
churches ; and Dr. Porter, following the preach- 
ing of Dr. Channing, led his congregation into that 
movement with hardly a dissenting voice. In 
common with all the Unitarian churches of America, 
it has no creed. 

After Dr. Porter came the ministry of Dr. 
Putnam, from 1830 to 1878. A whole generation 
treasures the sacred inheritance of his word. John 
Graham Brooks was his colleague and successor, 
from 1875 to 1882, and the Rev. Dr. De Normandie 
was called to the church in 1883. 

The ministry of John Eliot, the "Apostle to the 
Indians," was from 1632 to 1690. He has been 
called the most commanding figure among all the 
nonconformists of England who came to this 
country for freedom of worship. He was born in 
1604, at Widford-upon-Ware, a village not far 
from London, educated at Jesus College, Cam- 

317 



bridge, and was for a time an inmate of the house 
of Thomas Hooker, the founder of the State of 
Connecticut. 

The struggle between the Puritans and the 
EngHsh church had grown so bitter that in No- 
vember, 163 1, he came to Boston. In 1632 he 
began his ministry in Roxbury, and it is said that 
he looked after his flock like a shepherd. His 
watchfulness over the morals of trade are well 
indicated in the stories told of his exhortations to 
his flock. 

Eliot's greatest honor, perhaps, comes from his 
labors for the Indians. He believed that they 
belonged to the lost tribes of Israel, and that in 
their language would be found traces of the 
Hebrew. In his house, which was back of where 
the People's Bank now stands on Dudley Street, 
he had an evening school for the red men ; and 
during the week, or when he could have a spare 
Sunday for longer journeys, wherever they could 
be gathered in wigwams or under the spreading 
trees, down along the Cape, all through western 
Massachusetts and up to the borders of New Hamp- 
shire, there Eliot was to be found. 

To quote an enthusiastic biographer : — 

"In journeying, in perils, in fastings, no diffi- 
culties seemed too great, no thought of self came 
to the surface, every personal comfort was sur- 
rendered, every sacrifice gladly borne ; and then 

318 



he would come back, and through the long night, 
by his tallow candle, give himself to the transla- 
tion of the scriptures into their language with a 
diligence which shames almost all records of schol- 
arship. His charity became a proverb." 



319 



Samuel Tufts House, Somerville 




Somerville Avenue, near Loring Street 



320 



SAMUEL TUFTS HOUSE 

Where the Tufts family came from is uncertain. 
It is not unlilcely that they were of Norwegian 
descent, and went over to England in the time of 
the Vikings. Branches are still found in Scotland 
and Ireland. It is not known where the first one 
to bear this name in the new country came from. 
He at one time kept a ferry between Charlestown 
and Maiden, about 1646. His name was Peter, and 
he married the daughter of Thomas Pierce, of 
Charlestown, and had, even for those days, a very 
large family of children, many of whom died in 
infancy, and at least five before being old enough 
to have any name bestowed upon them. 

His youngest son, John, lived in the house on 
what is now Somerville Avenue, but which at the 
time of building was known as the "Great Road." 

This house was built by Abner Blasdell, and 
shortly before the Revolution was purchased by 
Samuel Tufts, who lived there in 1775, and who 
was engaged in melting bullets in the kitchen of 
this house while the British troops marched past 
on their way to Lexington. 

It was long owned and occupied by the late 
Samuel Tufts Frost, and has been altered and added 
to several times, but still retains the appearance 
Y 321 



of a very old house; in fact, it is by several years 
the oldest structure in the city. 

In 1890 the city erected a tablet with this 
inscription on it : — 

"Headquarters of Brigadier-General Nathanael 
Greene, in command of the Rhode Island troops 
during the siege of Boston, 1775-1776." 



322 



Prospect Hill, Somerville 





ktetdaBj 











Front, IMunroe Street and Prospect Avenue 



323 



Prospect Hill, Somerville 




Side 



324 



Tablet, Prospect Hill 




325 



PROSPECT HILL 

On the bottom of this observatory are the follow- 
ing inscriptions. These inscriptions were pre- 
pared hy the Somervllle Historical Society. 

"The American army, under General Putnam, 
on June 17, 1775, withdrew from Bunker Hill to 
this height, and here erected the citadel, the strong- 
est work in the besieging line of battle, and which 
for nine months withstood the British bombard- 
ment, June, 1775, to March, 1776." 

"Here on July 18, 1775, was raised, amid great 
rejoicing, the flag to General Israel Putnam and 
his heroic soldiers, bearing the motto of Connect- 
icut, 'Qui Transtulit Sustinet' and of Massa- 
chusetts, 'an appeal to Heaven.' " 

"From this eminence, on June i, 1776, a f^ag 
of the united colonies, bearing thirteen stripes and 
the crosses of St. George and St. Andrew, first bid 
defiance to a foe." 

"The flower of the British army, prisoners of 
war, who surrendered at Saratoga, were quartered 
on this Hill from November 7, 1777, to October 15, 
1778, guarded by American troops under General 
William Heath." 

"On this historic Hill, answering their coun- 
try's call, in 1862 encamped the soldiers of Somer- 
vllle, whose zeal, patriotism, and fortitude in the 

326 



Civil War is worthy of highest honor and com- 
memoration." 

In the interior of the tower are these inscrip- 
tions : — 

"Prospect Hill Park, constructed in 1902. 
Observation tower built 1903, Mayor Edward 
GHnes." 

"This tower and park were dedicated October 
29, 1903." 

Immediately after the battle of Bunker Hill, the 
Americans began to erect works on Prospect Hill, 
a very commanding height above Charlestown and 
Cambridge. Among the troops encamped at the 
foot of the Hill was Colonel Woodbridge's regiment 
of Cambridge. A direct descendant of the Colo- 
nel still resides in North Cambridge, and a street 
has been named for him. 

It was often referred to by the soldiers as 
"Mount Pisgar." Here was the citadel, the most 
formidable work on the American line during the 
siege of Boston, in 1775-1776. 

After the battle of Lexington, and as the minute- 
men, following the defeated British troops, chased 
them through Somerville, General William Heath 
took command of the Americans, and ordered a 
guard mount to be formed and posted at the foot of 
the hill. This was the first guard mount of the 
Revolution. 

Rev. William Emerson, the father of Ralph 
327 



Waldo Emerson, was chaplain in the American 
army. 

December 31, 1775, General Greene, who com- 
manded the troops on Prospect Hill, wrote the 
following : — 

"We have suffered prodigiously for want of 
wood. Many regiments have been obliged to eat 
their provisions nearly raw for lack of fuel to cook 
them, and many more have suffered extremely 
from the terrible cold." 

When the new flag was unfurled on the fort, in- 
stead of having stars, as now, it had the crosses of 
St. George and St. Andrew; but a year later the 
stars were added and the crosses were removed. 

Formerly, a fine spring of water issued from the 
side of this hill, and that was one reason that the 
soldiers encamped at the base. 

Company E, of the 39th Massachusetts Infantry, 
camped here before going to the front, and were 
mustered into the United States service August 12, 
1861, and then moved forward to Washington in 
the following September. 



328 



Tablet, Somerville 




Washington Street, near Boston 



329 



SOMERVILLE TABLET 

James Miller was the son of Richard, and was 
born in Charlestown. He married Hannah Gage, 
and had two sons, James and Richard. 

James, who said he was "too old to run," the 
day the battle of Lexington was fought, was killed 
by the British on their retreat. He married Sarah 
Lane, and after her death Sarah Waters. 

Gibbons River, the boundary line between part 
of Cambridge and Somervllle, was renamed "Miller 
River" In honor of this old man. 

Charles M. Miller, a direct descendant of James, 
was a member of the nth Massachusetts Battery 
during the war of the Rebellion. 

In 1880 the City of Somervllle erected this tablet 
in Mr. Miller's honor. 



330 



John Tufts House, Somerville 




Sycamore Street, near Medford 



331 



JOHN TUFTS HOUSE 

John Tufts was the second son of Peter, and was 
born on Winter Hill, in the old house on Lowell 
Street, which was demolished a few years ago. 

John was a scientific farmer, and a noted 
gardener for his day. During the Revolution his 
father gave him the farm, the old house on which 
is now rented by the Somerville Historical Society. 

It has been in possession of this family ever since, 
being now owned by Mrs. Fletcher, the only 
child of the late Oliver Tufts, who owned it during 
the Revolution. 

It was General Lee's headquarters during the 
siege of Boston in 1776, and General Washington 
visited Lee's command on his birthday, in Febru- 
ary of that year. 

John Tufts was born in 1755, and married Eliza- 
beth Perry, who was the granddaughter of James 
Tufts, a direct descendant of Peter Tufts. 

In 1890 the city placed a tablet on this house, 
which is now owned by Mrs. Fletcher, which reads 
as follows : — 

"Headquarters of Major General Charles Lee, 
commanding the left wing of the American army 
during the siege of Boston, 1775-1776." 

332 



General Lee was an adopted warrior of the 
Mohawk Indians, who named him " Boiling Water," 
because of his hot temper. 

This old house, some little time ago, was moved 
to its present position on Sycamore Street, near 
the railroad bridge, on account of street improve- 
ments made necessary by cutting away the hill on 
which it formerly stood. 



333 



Tablet on Gibbons's Elm, Winthrop 




Near Thornton Depot 



334 



GIBBONS HOUSE 

The picture on this tablet is said to be an excel- 
lent reproduction of this old house, which was de- 
stroyed in a severe gale about 1858. 

On January 9, 1634, a grant of fourscore acres of 
land at "Pullen Poynt," now called Point Shirley, 
was made to Edward Gibbons. On June 12, 1637, 
eighty acres of upland and marsh were also granted 
to him. On this last grant of land stands the old 
tree whose picture is the frontispiece of this book. 
East of this tree stood the house here pictured. It 
is said to have been "a very comfortable farm- 
house, containing several rooms, some of which 
were fitted up for the use of his family." 

Although Air. Gibbons had a very handsome 
house in Boston, he did not spend all his winters 
there. It is recorded that he lived in his new house 
In the winter of 1641 and 1642. This was the 
winter when the cold was so intense, and continued 
so long that all Boston Bay was frozen over, as it 
had not been before, according to Indian traditions, 
for more than fifty years. 

On January 17, 1642, Captain Gibbons and his 
wife, with others, on foot, went from his farm at 
"Pullen Poynt" right over to Boston. 

The Captain had a special liking for military 
service, and was in one of the two regiments which 

335 



were mustered during the summer of 1639, on Bos- 
ton Common. 

At his death In 1734 he was Major-General of 
the Colonial troops. 

Like all good soldiers of his day, he dearly loved 
his toddy. "August 16, 1642, he was fined twenty 
shillings for being disorderly with drinking too 
much strong drink," 

At the Captain's death he owned a very large 
number of guns, Spanish swords, daggers, muskets, 
etc. 

He was a famous farmer as well as soldier. The 
schedule made up after his death, of his personal 
property, showed that he owned a large num.ber 
of cows, sheep, hogs, and hens. 



336 



EDWARD GIBBONS'S ELM 

One of the most famous landmarks of Wlnthrop, 
and an object of unconcealed pride of the old in- 
habitants, is the ancient Gibbons's elm, situated on 
the lot opposite the Thornton Station, on Winthrop 
Street. 

It is estimated that it is more than three hun- 
dred years old. None know who planted it, but it 
is a matter of record that this grand old elm m.arks 
the spot where, in 1638, Edward Gibbons built a 
two-story farmhouse, probably the first in the 
Colony. 

Gibbons was at that time one of the most in- 
fluential men of the Colony. He was the fifteenth 
signer of the certificate membership of the Ancient 
and Honorable Artillery Company of Massachu- 
setts. Later in his life he was at the head of the 
militia of the State, and held the foremost position 
In the political affairs at that time. 

About a half-century ago a wild storm swept 
over the coast, and the massive elm was split in 
twain. The citizens of Winthrop at once raised a 
subscription and hired men to pull the two halves 
together and bind them with iron rods. These 
rods have all been overgrown by the growth of the 
tree, and no trace of them can be seen to-day. 

Many have been the picnics held under the 
z 337 



branches of Gibbons's elm, by historical societies 
of New England. Some years ago a meeting of the 
Floral Emblem Society was held here, and the tree 
was decorated with garlands In honor of Its age and 
history. 

The land on which this tree now stands Is owned 
by Mr. Edward Buss, who has spent a great deal 
of time and money In endeavoring to save and pre- 
serve this grand old tree. 



338 



Point Shirley, Winthrop 




In the background can be seen the buildings on Deer 
Island, belonging to the city of Boston. In the fore- 
ground is the spot where Captain James Mugford was 
killed. 



339 



POINT SHIRLEY 

Captain James Mugford, of Marblehead, on 
May 17, 1776, captured the ordnance ship Hope, 
of Bristol, England, with six guns and thirty-eight 
men, with the schooner Franklm, of four guns and 
thirty men, and safely navigated the Hope through 
Shirley Gut, the British fleet having blockaded the 
other entrance into Boston Harbor, where he de- 
livered her to the Colonial authorities. 

She had a very valuable cargo of arms and gun- 
powder, of which the Colonies stood greatly in need 
at this time. 

On May 19, in trying to run the Franklin out of 
Boston Harbor through Shirley Gut, she ran 
aground near the spot shown in this picture, and 
the British fleet off Deer Island quickly discovering 
it, despatched thirteen boats, on board of which 
were over two hundred soldiers and sailors, to cap- 
ture the Franklin. 

The thirty men on the deck of the schooner were, 
however, more than a match for the larger force 
sent against them, and after repeated attempts 
had been made by the British, they were repulsed 
with considerable loss ; but just as the battle was 
over Captain Mugford was shot, and as he fell into 
the arms of a comrade, he said : — 

340 



"I am a dead man, but don't give up the vessel. 
You will be able to beat them off." 

On the 20th of May, the Franklin was safely 
removed from her perilous position, and sailed for 
Marblehead, where Captain Mugford was buried 
on May 23, with every mark of grief and respect. 
Colonel Glover's famous Essex regiment acting as 
escort. 

During the fight it is said that the British lost 
seventy killed, while Captain Mugford was the only 
one killed among the Americans. 

A further account of Captain Mugford will be 
found under "Marblehead," on pages 85-91. 

"The following interesting account of the battle 
is given by General Artemas Ward in a letter to 
General Washington, preserved in the American 
Archives, 4th series, vol. 6, page 582 : — 

'General Ward to General Washington. 
' Sir : — 

'I am to inform your Excellency that yesterday 
afternoon Captain Mugford, in the armed schooner 
Franklin fell down in order to go out on a cruise, 
but got aground near Point Shirley. In the even- 
ing the Major Frazer, a little armed schooner, went 
down at the same time with the Franklin and an- 
chored not far from her. 

' About midnight a number of sail and other 
boats from the men-of-war attacked the two armed 

341 



schooners ; the people on board the Major Frazer 
cut their cable and came up. Captain Mugford 
was very fiercely attacked by twelve or thirteen 
boats full of men, but he and his men exerted them- 
selves with remarkable bravery, beat the enemy, 
sunk several of their boats, and killed a number of 
their men ; or it is supposed they lost sixty or 
seventy. 

'The intrepid Captain Mugford fell a little before 
the enemy left the schooner; he was run through 
with a lance while he was cutting off the hands of 
the pirates as they were attempting to board him, 
and it is said that with his own hands he cut off 
five pairs of theirs ; no other man was either killed 
or wounded on board the Franklin. 

' These are all the particulars which I have been 
able to collect, as but one man has yet come up 
from the schooner this morning. 

' I am your Excellency's obedient humble servant, 

'Artemas Ward. 

'To General Washington: — 

' P.S. Mr. Mugford was not a commissioned 
captain of the Franklin., but master, and as the 
other officers had left the schooner he took the com- 
mand.' " 

While the British squadron were blockading the 
harbor of Boston, during the War of 1812, Old 
Ironsides sailed successfully through Shirley Gut 
and thus escaped the foe. 

342 



Deane Winthrop House, Winthrop 




Shirley Street 



343 



DEANE WINTHROP HOUSE 

Deane Winthrop, sixth son of Governor Win- 
throp, was born on the family estate known by 
the name of "Edwardston," at Groton, England, 
March i6, 1623. He was named after his mother's 
half brother, Sir John Deane. 

His father, Governor John Winthrop, built, at 
the foot of Cottage Hill, Winthrop Beach, a house 
in 1647 ; and Deane Winthrop lived there until 
he purchased one hundred and twenty acres of 
land, in 1649, from the Pierce heirs, the original 
owner being Captain Pierce, who commanded the 
Mayflower, and who also compiled the first almanac 
published in America, in 1639. He also was a 
member of the first board of selectmen in the town 
of Boston. 

This was Governor Winthrop's home for over 
fifty years, and he died there on his eighty-first 
birthday, March 16, 1704. 

Governor Winthrop was twice married, his first 
wife being Sarah, daughter of the Rev. Jose Glover. 
She was the mother of nine children, and died in 
1683. His second wife was Martha, the widow of 
Captain John Mellowes, who outlived him, dying 
in 1716. 

On July II, 1699, Mercy Winthrop, his daughter, 
344 



was married to Atherton Haugh, of Boston, by 
the Rev. Mr. Willard, Judge Samuel Scwall being 
present. 

"The customary way of getting from Winthrop 
to Boston in those days was by sailboat, the voyage 
sometimes requiring four or five hours. There is 
record of a public offering of thanks on Sunday for 
preservation from the perils of the trip, and also 
mention of many game birds and an eagle having 
been shot on the way." 

"We have another glimpse of the primitive life 
of the time in a record of constant journeying over 
the frozen harbor, between Winthrop and Boston, 
by means of carts and sledges, for several weeks one 
winter." 

" But a more thrilling winter episode was that of 
the wreck of a Boston ship at Cottage Hill, on a 
tempestuous night in 1682, when the five survivors 
of a crew of thirteen groped their way in a blinding 
snowstorm across the marsh to the cheery home 
of Deane Winthrop, where their frozen hands 
and feet were thawed out before a blazing fire 
on the rude kitchen hearth, that may still be 
seen, after the lapse of two hundred and twenty- 
six years." 

" In the cozy glow of that fireplace also, Deane 
Winthrop doubtless read letters from the family 
of his cousin in England, Sir George Downing, 
the Boston Puritan, for whom Downing St. in 

345 



London was named, who was a trusted political 
adviser of Cromwell and also of Charles II, and 
for whose son King William III was godfather." 

" Letters received by Deane Winthrop are pre- 
served, in which the daily home life of the royal 
circle is discussed in as matter-of-fact a manner as 
in the case of Winthrop's near relatives." 

" The Deane Winthrop house has an interesting 
association through Mrs. Winthrop, whose father, 
Jose Glover, brought the first printing-press to 
New England." 

"The house, after the death of Winthrop, was 
successively owned by or associated with the 
Grover family, which gave its name to Grover's 
ClifT; also by Lady Temple's grandson, Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Thomas Lindall Winthrop, and 
the latter's son, Hon. Robert C. Winthrop." 

" Fine portraits of some of these worthies have 
recently been donated for decorating the walls of 
the old house by J. Grafton Minot, whose wife is 
descended from the Bowdoins, Temples, and Win- 
throps." 

This house was occupied by the Tewksbury 
family until 1825, when David Floyd, Sr., moved 
into it. Four generations of this family have 
lived in it. 

Mr, Floyd came to Winthrop from what is now 
known as Revere, but which at that time formed 
part of Chelsea. He was a direct descendant of 

346 



John Floyd, who moved from Alalden to "Pullen 
Poynt" and " Rumney Marsh" In 1682. 

The last member of the family to reside In it was 
Otis Floyd, who died in June, 1899. 

It Is now the property of the Winthrop Improve- 
ment Society, who have repaired it and placed 
within Its walls many rare and curious articles con- 
nected with the early history of this house and the 
town. 

It Is related that at one time Mr. Floyd Invaded 
the home of the General Court on Beacon Hill, 
and emphatically protested against something 
that the State had done, which he thought in- 
fringed his rights, and one of the statements that 
he made was that he had come there with "forty- 
eight feet of Floyds," his seven sons, each of whom 
were more than six feet tall, standing behind their 
sire at this critical time. 

Lady Temple, before her marriage, was Eliza- 
beth Bowdoin, a daughter of General James Bow- 
doin, the last-named having become the owner of 
the Winthrop Farm, where the Deane Winthrop 
house now stands, in 1754. At his death, in 1790, 
it went to his daughter, who owned It until her 
death In 1809. 

When Governor Winthrop came over he left this 
son behind to finish his education In England, and 
it was not until 1635 ^^"'^^ ^^^^ ^oy arrived in the 
good ship "Abigail." He was with his brother, 

347 



John, at Ipswich, and in 1646 at New London, 
Conn. He was the founder of Groton, Conn., and 
aided in the settlement of the town of Lancaster. 

The year that he purchased the Pierce house he 
had just come into the allotment of land there 
made to his father in 1638. During the year of 
his settlement in this now famous old house, he 
was married to the daughter of President Dunster 
of Harvard College. Many were the fashionable 
Colonial functions that occurred in the Deane 
Winthrop house during the days of the Winthrops. 

"It is said that John M. Clarke, who at one time 
held the office of High Sheriff, in Suffolk County, 
as the time for county conventions approached, 
made a visit to Winthrop. The tall, fine-looking 
gentleman, wearing a silk hat, would usually ride 
down and call on a number of his personal friends 
and voters. Sheriff Clarke knew practically all 
the voters because of their service in the courthouse 
as jurors. 

"Asaresultof these visits, when, a few weeks later, 
the conventions were held, Winthrop always sent 
a man to the Democratic and Republican county 
conventions, who were instructed to assist in re- 
nominating the Sheriff, and it is said that, if the 
delegates were busy harvesting, fishing, or gunning, 
sometimes the same man would attend the conven- 
tions of both parties." 



348 



Bill House, Winthrop 




Marshall Street 



349 



BILL HOUSE 

Built by James Bill in 1635; occupied by his 
son, Lieutenant Jonathan Bill, of the Boston militia, 
also by his grandson, Jonathan Bill, a boat-builder, 
and by Jonathan Bill, 3d, who was a selectman in 
Chelsea in 1744 and 1753. 

This old house rounds out its two hundred and 
seventy-first year of continuous occupancy as a 
residence, as far as records can show. The first 
records of the old house are found in the minutes 
of the General Court of Boston, in the year 1639, 
under date of January 27. The house remained 
in the Bill family, without a break, until 1822. 

In 1729 a room in this house was used as a school 
for the "Pullen Poynt" district of the town of 
Chelsea. 

John Tewksbury's descendants occupied the 
house about this time until 1875, when it passed 
out of their hands. Herman Bill Tewksbury, 
formerly of Douglass Street, was born in this house. 

Mrs. Joshua Bates, and her daughter, Eliza- 
beth, afterwards by marriage Madam Van de 
Weye, was born in this house. She was one of the 
late Queen Victoria's most intimate friends, and 
godmother to one of the Queen's children. Her 
husband was the donor of Bates Hall in the Boston 
Public Library 

350 



MOV 20 1911 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



